


A Life Worth Saving

by LunaLovesYou143



Category: Achievement Hunter, Rooster Teeth, Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-25
Updated: 2017-07-01
Packaged: 2018-10-22 02:33:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 38,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10687986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunaLovesYou143/pseuds/LunaLovesYou143
Summary: This was originally written on Wattpad but has been edited and revised. This is the updated version of it.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally written on Wattpad but has been edited and revised. This is the updated version of it.

**_From: Mikey  
_ ** _Hey, we’re here. Open the door._

I put my phone back into my pocket and head downstairs to the front door. I open it to reveal my cousin and his wife.

“Hey Mikey. Hey Lindsay,” I say letting them in.

“Hey Millie,” they both say giving me a hug.

“How are you holding up?” Michael asks.

I stay silent for a bit before answering, “I’m fine.” He gives me a skeptical look but knows it’s best to let it go. The three of us walk to lounge and sit down. Instead of the normal Michael grabbing a game that we all play, we just sit in silence. After a few minutes, I decide to break the silence. “When do we leave?”

“After your last day of school,” Lindsay say. “So two weeks from now.” I just nod.

A few more moments of silence take over before someone knocked on the door. “I’ll get it,” Michael says getting up. We hear the door open and a few mumbles before he returns with a police officer behind him.

“Amelia Jones?” he asks motioning to me. I nod. “Follow me.” I look towards Michael who just nods, signalling it’s okay. I get up and follow him outside onto the front porch. “Do you want the good news or bad news first?”

“Whichever makes the most sense to tell,” I reply not knowing what to think.

The officer sighs before looking at me. “So, the good news is that Bianca, Maddison, and Vanessa have been put into juvenile detention and face a possible life in the prison. Your parents also have been found.” The minute I hear those words, I look up with hope. “Sadly, they were found dead.” That made my heart drop. I just stared at him with a blank expression. “Miss Jones, are you okay?” I nod not wanting to admit anything.

He motions me to go back inside and sit with Lindsay and Michael. We sit and as they talk about them becoming my legal guardian, I just sit alone with my thoughts. _They’re gone, all because of those bitches! My parents are dead because of some group that’s after them. They got what they wanted now too._ Michael nudges me to pay attention. I look back at the police officer.

“We are going to court tomorrow to take all of the legal actions necessary for you to become her legal guardian,” he tells us. “Thank you for your time Mr. and Mrs. Jones. Good luck Amelia.”

Michael escorts him out. As soon as I hear the door close, I break down in tears. He puts his arm around me and pulls me into his chest. I just cry. Lindsay starts rubbing my back in attempts to soothe me. The last time I remember is Lindsay and Mikey saying, “Don’t worry. Everything will be okay.”

A few hours later, I wake up to the voices of mumbling. I blink a few times and realize that Michael must of carried me up to my room.

“Are you sure she’s going to be safe with us?” I hear Lindsay ask.

“She has to be. There is no way in hell that I’m letting her stay here,” he replies.

“I know, but the thing I’m worried about is that she’s not going to like living with us. I mean, yeah I know you guys are close and all Michael, but I want her to live like a normal teenager,” she sighs.

“I know Lindsay. I want to keep her safe though,” he says. “She’s the only family I really do love. I would hate to see her hurt.” I sneak out of my room and hide behind a wall near the top of the stairs.

“Michael,” Lindsay starts, “you do understand that taking care of her is going to be a big responsibility.”

He sighs. “I know, but no one else wants to take her in. I mean my parents were willing to take her in, but they asked me first if I wanted to take her in. I couldn’t say no!”

Lindsay sighs. “We just need to know how we’re going to figure this out. I mean we’re both busy all of the time with Rooster Teeth, and I don’t feel comfortable leaving her by herself.”

“I’ve got it all figured out,” Michael replies. I take few steps down the stairs but remain out of sight. “We’ll take her to Rooster Teeth with us, and when school starts, she’ll just drive to Rooster Teeth or one of us would pick her up.”

“You really thought this through,” she states in a surprised tone. “So we’re really doing this?”

“Yeah,” he says. “I’m really happy because I always thought of her as a little sister. I mean even when I lived in Jersey, I would always protect her from everyone and everything.” At this point, I decide to fully walk downstairs. I head into the kitchen to see that Mikey and Lindsay are sitting and drinking a beer.

“Hi,” I say taking a seat in between them.

“Are you hungry?” Michael asks. I nod. “What are you in the mood for.”

I think for a few moments. “Umm, pizza sounds good.” He nods as Lindsay takes out her phone.

“The usual?” she asks. I nod. She starts dialing the number and walks out into the living room.

The moment she leaves, Michael turns to me. “You have to plan the funeral.”

At that point, I just look down, starting to tear up. “I can’t,” I whisper. “I just can’t.” He stands up and gives me a hug.

“Hey, hey, shh,” he starts rubbing my back, “it’ll be alright. I’ll be with you every step of the way.” I look up at him, my eyes already glossy. “If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll plan the funeral.”

“Thank you,” I mumble. Lindsay walks back in and looks at the both of us.

“Pizza will be here in about 20 minutes,” she says trying to break the tension. We nod. “How about we go into the living room and play video games? You look like you really need a distraction.”

“Yeah,” Michael chimes in. “We could even take turns playing Limbo.”

I let out a small laugh. “You just want to see me rage, don’t you?”

The two laugh. “Maybe,” they admit. I roll my eyes and crack a smile.

“Fine, but let’s play Mario Kart 8 instead,” I smirk.

“You really want to beat me at that game again, don’t you?” he retorts.

“Maybe,” I tease. He just laughs and shakes his head. I get the Wii U set up while Michael and Lindsay sit on the couch with their controllers. Once the game is set up, I sit in between them and wait for the game to load.

“I want to see a cousin vs cousin thing,” Lindsay says. “I’ll even film it.”

“Yeah,” I add in, “that’s a good idea! Especially since I’ll have footage of me beating Mikey again.”

“Alright,” Michael starts, “you’re on!” I laugh as I choose my character (aka Baby Peach) and customize my kart. Lindsay gets the camera set up and starts filming. “Hey guys! So as you can see, I’m not in Texas. I’m actually back in Jersey with my cousin!”

“Hi!” I wave towards the camera. “We decided to play Mario Kart 8, and I’m going to beat his ass!”

“Psh, you wish.”

“Is that a challenge?” I ask.

“Oh, you bet it is,” he smirks.

“Look, it’s this week’s versus because Jack can’t challenge the current winner,” Lindsay mentions.

“Oh yeah, so if she beats me this week, that means she’ll be the champion,” he adds on.

“What is this ‘if’ bullshit?” He snorts. “Anyways, it’s VERSUS!”

“So what grand prix do you want to do?” he asks me.

“The Special Cup,” I answer. He nods.

Throughout the races, Michael and I are about tied. He got first in the first race while I got first and second on the next two races. By the end of Rainbow Road, Michael is in first with me behind him. I hit the last item block and get a red shell.

“Come on! Come on! Come on!” Michael yells.

I throw my red shell and yell, “SUCK MY SHELL!” I smirk as it hits him.

“FUCK!”

I easily pass by him and win the race. “FUCK YOU!”

“How the fuck is it possible that you beat me when I was the one who fucking taught you how to play?” he questions as he finishes the race.

“Oh please, that was the N64 version. I learned how to play this one all on my own,” I remind him.

“Well that’s this week’s versus where Michael got beat by a 16-year-old girl,” Lindsay says.

“Next week, she will be challenged by Jack,” Michael adds on.

“Let’s stop!” we both yell.

“Well, that was fun,” I say standing up.

“Sure, that goes up the week right before we get back,” he tells me. “So, Jack will probably challenge you.” Before anything else could be said, there’s a knock at the door.

“Yay! Pizza!” I exclaim running to the door. Mikey and Lindsay are following right behind me laughing. I open the door to reveal the pizza delivery guy, and my face falls. I see my ex is there. “What are you doing here?”

“Uhh, delivering a pizza,” he says unsure of what to say. “Nice to see you.”

“Just hand me the pizza,” I demand.

“Nice to see that you’re still a bitch,” he retorts.

“Says the person who cheated on me.” His eyes widen. I smirk knowing I won this round.

“What’s going on?” Mikey asks before anything else could be said. He looks to see Carter. “Just how much will it be so you can leave us alone?”

“That’ll be $15.50,” he mumbles since he knows he shouldn’t mess with Mikey.

“Here,” he says handing him the money with the exact change. Carter hands me the pizza before rushing out.

“Thanks Mikey,” I say giving him a side hug.

“No prob Millie,” he tells me. “Now let’s go eat pizza!”

For the rest of that night, Lindsay, Michael, and I sat around, ate pizza, and watched movies. By the time midnight rolled around, the couple were already asleep. I decided that I would sneak upstairs to Skype Ray since I’m closest with him. I run into my room and send a quick text to Ray.

 **_To: Tuxedo Mask  
_ ** _Aye! You up for Skyping?_

After I send the text, I head into my closet and pick out a pair of basketball shorts and a tank top. I change into them before I check my phone to see a reply from Ray.

 **_From: Tuxedo Mask  
_ ** _Always! Tina just left._

I smile and quickly log onto Skype. As soon as I log in, Ray calls.

“Eager to talk to me I see,” I tease when I answer.

“Hey, you’re like my favorite person in the whole world!” he exclaims. I laugh.

“What are you doing up so late?” I question.

“Tina just left for her flight,” he answers. “Now what’s your excuse.

“Couldn’t fall asleep,” I tell him. “Plus, it’s a bit scary here at the moment.”

“Aww, is my wittle Amelia scared?” I roll my eyes and flip him off, causing him to laugh. “I don’t blame you though. I heard about what happened.” My smile falters. “I’m here for you, ya know.”

“I know,” I sigh. “It’s just weird to think the people I considered to be my best friends were the people who killed my parents.”

“Well don’t worry. You have so many people here that will protect you at all cost.” I show a small smile before letting out a yawn. “Go get some sleep. You really need it.”

“Do you think you can stay on until I’m fully asleep?” I ask.

“Of course.” I thank him before I bring my laptop and set it on my side table. “Good night Amy,” Ray whispers.

“Good night Ray,” I reply. I lay down on my bed and try to fully go to sleep. After a few minutes, Ray starts to play music. I open my eyes and look at him.

“Just thought you would want some music to help you sleep,” he smiles. I smile back before closing my eyes and slowly drifting into slumber.

The next morning I was woken up by the sun seeping through the curtains. I sit up, rub my eyes, and look around. I see that my laptop is closed meaning that either Michael or Lindsay came in. I check my phone to see the time. 8:48. I stretch a bit before getting out of bed. I walk downstairs to see that Mikey is sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee while Lindsay is cooking.

“Morning,” I say taking a seat next to Michael.

"Good morning," the couple responds.

"How did you sleep?" Michael asks.

"Okay," I answer. Nothing else was said. Lindsay set down a plate of waffles with sliced bananas and strawberries on the side. She also put a jar of Nutella next to me.

"Eat up," she tells me handing me a plate. I nod, grabbing a waffle and spreading Nutella all over it. I also put a few bananas and strawberries on top.

We sit in silence for a few minutes before Michael breaks the silence. "The lawyer is going to be here in about half an hour," he tells me. I nod. "You should probably be ready then." I nod again as I finish my waffle. Once I'm done eating, I bring my plate and set it in the sink.

"I'll wash the dishes," Lindsay says before I walk upstairs.

Once I get into my room, I look in my closet and pull out a tank top and a pair of shorts. I then proceed to the bathroom where I take a quick 10-minute shower. After my shower, I quickly get dressed, dry my hair, and put it up in a ponytail. I go into my room and check my phone to see that I have a text from Ray from an hour ago.

 **_From: Tuxedo Mask  
_ ** _Hey, so I need you to pick me up at the airport at 10:45._

I check the time. 9:25. I have an hour and twenty minutes until I have to pick him up. I grab my laptop and log onto Skype. I see that he’s online, so I message him.

 **_9:26- Amy Pond  
_ ** _Aye, connected to the plane’s wifi?_

 **_9:27- Tuxedo Mask  
_ ** _Exactly, wanna skype?_

 **_9:28- Amy Pond  
_ ** _Sure_

As soon as I send my reply, Ray calls.

“Hey, what are you doing?” I immediately ask.

“What do you mean?” he questions. “I’m going out to see you.”

“Yeah, but don’t you have things to do for RT?” He shrugs. “RAY!”

“Okay! Michael came in some time after you fell asleep and asked if I could come. I pushed all of my X-Ray and Vav stuff for a later date,” he explains. I shake my head and sigh. “So are you going to skype with me for the next hour, or are you going to make me suffer through this flight alone.”

“I don’t know. The lawyer is going to be here soon.” I hear a soft knock at my door. “Come in!” Lindsay opens the door.

“Hey, Michael told me to tell you that the lawyers postponed the meeting by about two hours,” she tells me. I nod. She closes my door, and I turn back to face my laptop.

“So, does that mean you’re going to stay on skype with me?”

“Yes.” He cheers before the person next to him shushes him. I giggle.

We continue to talk until he has to turn off his laptop. I close my laptop and grab my car keys before heading downstairs. I see that Lindsay and Michael are on the couch watching TV.

“I’m going to pick up Ray now,” I tell them.

“Alright, be safe,” Mikey tells me.

I walk out the front door and to my car. I start my car and start driving to the airport. I started blasting Dream on Dreamer. After about fifteen minutes, I get to the airport. I park my car and head inside. I have a five minute wait until Ray gets out of his plane, so I go on my phone and decide to look through tumblr.

Before I know it, someone’s hands are covering my eyes. “Guess who?” the person’s voice says.

“Hmm, I think it’s,” I pause, pretending to think for a moment, “Ray.”

“Hey,” he says taking his hands off of my eyes, “you guessed it!” I turn around and give him a hug.

“I’m glad you’re here,” I whisper.

“How are you?” he asks not letting go of me.

“In all honesty, I could be better,” I admit.

“Well,” he starts, “I’m here now as a distraction, so let’s go grab my luggage and head to your house.” I nod as we look around the baggage claim area. We finally find his luggage after a few minutes. Once he grabs it, we walk to my car and start driving home.

“Do you want anything to eat before we go to my house?” I ask once we get out of the airport parking lot.

“Umm, what do you want to eat?” he asks.

“I ate like two hours ago,” I answer. “You pick.”

“Well, I could just make something when we get to your house,” he tells me.

“Are you sure?” I ask.

“Positive,” he responds. I just nod, handing my phone to Ray. “What’s your passcode?”

“It hasn’t changed since the last time I gave you my phone,” I tell him. He nods and types away. He then scrolls through my songs and starts playing “Drown” by Bring Me The Horizon. I started to smile a bit.

“I knew you would want this song,” he says. I laugh before singing along to it.

What doesn’t kill you  
Makes you wish you were dead  
I got a hole in my soul growing deeper and deeper  
And I can’t take  
One more moment of this silence  
_The loneliness is haunting me  
_ And the weight of the world’s getting harder to hold up

Ray takes out his phone and starts recording.

It comes in waves, I close my eyes  
Hold my breath and let it bury me  
_I’m not okay and it’s not alright  
_ Won’t you take the lake and bring me home again

Who will fix me now  
Dive in when I’m down  
Save me from myself  
Don’t let me drown  
Who will make me fight  
Drag me out alive  
_Save me from myself  
_ Don’t let me drown

I stop singing at that point and look at Ray since we’re at a stoplight. “You better delete this recording,” I say even though I know he won’t.

“Why should I?” he questions. “You have an amazing singing voice.”

“You and I both know that’s a lie,” I say turning back to the road in front of me in time to see the light change from red to green.

“Okay, but you and I both know I would never tell you a lie meaning you do have an amazing singing voice,” he argues.

I sigh before smiling and shaking my head. “You win this round Narvaez,” I giggle.

“Don’t I always Jones,” he cockily replies. I laugh before focusing on driving again. After a few more songs by Bring Me The Horizon and Ray vlogging, we finally make it back to my house.

“I can’t believe you vlogged for the whole car ride home,” I remark as he takes his luggage out of the car.

“Well, might as well upload something to my channel that’s different,” he says. “Or it could be something for your’s.”

“My channel is strictly for watching youtubers and posting things that Mikey doesn’t want to upload on his channel,” I say. “It isn’t a place where I post videos of me singing.”

“Aw come on,” he says poking me, “you’ve told me that you want to upload covers one day. I know you too well.” I just sigh as I unlock the door.

“I’ll think about it,” I tell him as I open the door. We walk in before I close the door behind me, locking it. “We’re back!”

“We’re in the kitchen,” Lindsay calls out. Ray leaves his luggage by the front door as we walk into the kitchen. We see Lindsay and Mikey sitting at the table, so we take a seat across from them.

We sit in silence for a minute before Mikey breaks it. “The lawyer is going to be here in a few minutes.”

“So I guess we’re going to figure out everything with my parents will before we drive to the courthouse,” I say. The two nod. I feel Ray grab my hand and squeeze it to assure everything will be okay. There soon is a knock at the door. Mikey gets up. He then returns a minute later with the lawyer trailing behind him.

“I’ll let you hear your parent’s will with Michael and Lindsay,” Ray whispers before letting go of my hand. “Everything will be fine.” I nod as he leaves the kitchen.

The lawyer takes a seat. “Are you Amelia Claire Jones?” she asks. I nod. “Well, in your parents’ will, it states that they leave you with whatever money is in their bank account, which we’re working on transferring to your bank account, this house, and these two boxes.” She hands me the two boxes, one fairly smaller than the other. “It states that you are not to open it until after the funeral.” I nod. She then turns to Michael and Lindsay. “Michael and Lindsay Jones?” They nod. “It states that they wanted you to take guardianship of Amelia Claire Jones. It also states that these two boxes are to be open after you get granted guardianship.” She hands them two boxes that are roughly the same size. “Now, if we may, let’s go to the courthouse for all the paperwork to be filled out.” She stands up and starts heading towards the door.

The three of us get up. “I’ll go tell Ray we’re leaving,” I tell them. They nod as I run upstairs to the guest room. I open the door to see that Ray isn’t in my room. I laugh and shake my head knowing where he went. I then barge into my room to see Ray playing my Xbox.

Ray looks in my direction for a minute before going back to play Call of Duty. “Hi,” he says not taking his eyes off of the screen.

“Hey, did you really come in here to play CoD?” I question laughing. He just shrugs. “Well, we’re going to the courthouse now. Are you going to come with us or stay here and play games?”

“Uh, I’ll stay,” he answers. “I should probably upload my twitch stream from yesterday.”

“Alright,” I say. “See you later.” He nods and gives me a quick hug before returning to his game. I laugh a bit before heading downstairs. I run out to their rented car. Lindsay and I get in the car and wait for Michael to lock the door.

“So,” she starts, “I’m going to be your guardian.” I nod. “Are you excited that Michael and I will be taking care of you?”

“Yes,” I exclaim. “I mean my favorite cousin and his amazing wife are taking care of me. It’s gonna be awesome.” She smiles in relief. Michael then opens the door to the driver’s seat and gets in.

“Let’s get this over with,” he says. “I really want to get over with the boring part quickly.”

He starts up the car and starts driving to the car. On the drive to the courthouse, I look out the window and smile. _Today marks the day that my favorite cousin and his wife become my guardians._


	2. Chapter 2

Today’s the day, the day I’ve been dreading. _Friday, May 30, 2015_. The day of my parents’ funeral.

I slip on the black dress I bought from Pacsun and my black ballet flats. I didn’t bother with makeup because I knew it would be ruined later on today. I grab the locket my parents gave me on my 13th birthday. I start at it for a few moments before clutching it, bringing it close to my heart. I sit on my bed and close my eyes tight, trying to remember every good memory it brought. I open my eyes and jump a bit when someone knocks at the door.

“Can I come in?” the person asks.

“Sure,” I say. The door opens to reveal Mikey. 

“Hi,” he says closing the door behind me. He takes then proceeds to take the seat next to me. “How are you holding up?” I just look down, trying my best not to cry. “Hey, hey, hey. Please don’t cry, yet at least, because if you do, then I’ll probably break down.” I let out a chuckle. “Now come on, we have to leave now.” I nod. We both get up and head downstairs. I look at Lindsay, who is wearing her black dress and heels, and Ray, who is wearing a black button up shirt with a tie and dress pants, as we head down the stairs.

“Are we leaving now?” Lindsay asks Mikey.

“Yeah,” he replies. She takes his hand as they walk out in front of us. 

“You ready?” Ray asks taking my hand. I nod, squeezing his hand. We walk out to the car and take out seats.

The drive to the funeral home was quiet. No music played. Not even a single word came out of anyone’s mouth. It was dead silence. After what seemed like the longest thirty minutes of my life, we finally get to the funeral home. Across, you could see the graveyard, and the two spots in front were completely dug out. I look away, knowing those two spots were for the two people who loved me most. Ray squeezes my hand, causing me to look up at him. He just nods, motioning towards the doors of the funeral home. I nod as we walk towards them. Once we get inside, we follow Lindsay and Mikey to the front of the room and take our seats. 

The service went on for about an hour. I heard many stories from my aunts, uncles, parents’ friends, and even Mikey. Soon, it was my turn to say my eulogy. 

“Now, their daughter, Amelia Claire Jones, will say a few words,” the priest says.

Ray squeezes my hand before I go stand up in front of everyone. Mikey hands me the mic and gives me a hug before he sits back down with Lindsay and Ray. I take a deep breath and look towards Ray, who nods signaling everything will be okay.

 

“Every child grows up with a set of parents. Some have one parent while others only have parental figures due to adoption and that stuff. I was lucky enough to have both my parents. I remember being a little girl and making my parents play tea party with me. I remember dragging Mikey with me to play superheroes while my parents would be the villains. I remember so many things. They’ve taught me so much about life and people and how cruel the world could be, but they always told me that things would get better. If I’m being honest, that’s the hardest thing to think about since at the moment things don’t appear that they will get better. They were my parents. They were there to hear my first words, to see my first steps, to see me on my first day of school. They were my first friends. The first people who got to hold me. Now, it’s hard knowing they won’t be able to see me when I go to prom, when I graduate high school, when I get accepted and graduate university, when I get married, and when I have kids of my own. My kids won’t grow up knowing how wonderful they’re grandparents would have been. They’ll only hear stories of how amazing they were.” I take a breath to stop shaking. Tears are threatening my eyes at this point. “ They were taken away from me too early. It’s hard for me to accept that they’re gone while there’s still so much more I need them for, but all good things must come to an end. They will always be my parents, and no one could ever take away the love they gave me, especially now because I know that they are still watching over me and guiding me through everything.” I look over to their open coffins. They look so peaceful together. “I love you Mom and Dad.” With that, I put the mic back in its stand and walk back to my seat.

Once I’m seated, Ray grabs my hand and squeezes it. He gives me a look telling me that I need to stay strong for a bit more. After a few minutes, we line up to for the open casket viewing. I go last, along with Michael, Lindsay, and Ray. A bunch of family members and family friends come up to me, giving me a quick hug before proceeding back to their seats. It was then my turn. Michael and Lindsay go up in front of Ray and I. Ray knew that he needed to stay by my side because if I was left alone, I would break down and cry. I walk up to the casket. They look so peaceful. I look over to Ray who just squeezes my hand. 

The priest then says the last few words before we all walk across the street to the graveyard. The whole walk there, Ray holds my hand. Once we’re there, they lower my parent’s coffins into the ground. I grabbed one handful of dirt. I throw it into my mother’s grave first before grabbing another handful of dirt to throw into my father’s grave. Lindsay, Michael, and Ray do the same. We step back as they finish filling the graves. 

After the burial, we drive back to my house, where Michael’s parents dealt with the reception. The thirty-minute drive back was silent. I rest my head rest on Ray’s shoulder, letting myself drift to sleep for a little bit due to the fact that I didn’t get a lot of sleep the night before.

I wake up to someone carrying me. I look up to see that it’s Mikey. He lets out a soft smile as we walk into my house. He sets me down, and I smooth out my dress. I walk through, being stopped every second by a family member or friend giving me their condolences. I walk into the kitchen and grab a plate. I take a few pieces of spam musubi before heading outside. I walk towards the swing set and take a seat on one of the swings. After a few minutes, Ray joins me with his plate of food.

“Are you not that hungry?” he asks. I just nod. He sighs and gives me a small smile. “At least you’re eating something. We eat in silence, and within a few minutes, I finish eating. I stand up to go throw my plate away, but Ray stops me. “I’ll throw it away for you.” I nod, handing him my plate. I sit back down on the swing. As Ray walks back into the house, Mikey walks outside, taking Ray’s swing.

“Hey,” he whispers.

“Hi,” I mumble. 

“Remember how I came over so often and all we would do would be swinging on these swings?” he asks. I nod. “I’m going to miss this place.”

“I will too,” I confess. “I grew up in this place. There are way too many memories here.”

“Yeah,” he sighs. “You’re going to love it in Austin though.”

“I know.” We stay silent for a bit before Lindsay and Ray decide to join us. Mikey gets up, letting Lindsay take his seat. I look down at my feet for a bit before I feel Ray’s hands on my back. I look towards him who gives me a small smile before turning towards Mikey. I follow his gaze to see him nod a bit before turning to look at Lindsay. I look back at Ray who starts pushing me on the swing. I start to smile a bit, I look over to see that Michael is pushing Lindsay on her swing. I look back at Ray who continues to push higher and higher, and soon enough, I’m laughing. This continues for about ten more minutes before both Mikey and Ray grab the chains to help stop the swing. 

“We should probably go back inside,” Mikey says. We all nod and get up. We walk back inside and socialize with the rest of the family and friends. 

A few hours later, everyone finally leaves. I sigh and look around. There’s not much of a mess to clean up, so there’s nothing to worry about. 

“I should probably start packing,” I mumble to myself. Before I could take a step, I feel someone’s arms wrap around my waist and their head rests on my shoulder. I look over to see Ray. “Hi.”

“Hi,” he whispers. “You’re coming to Austin in a week.”

“I know,” I murmur. “Do you want help packing?” I nod. He then picks me up and carries me upstairs to my room. I head into my walk in closet, closing the door behind me. I quickly change into a pair of basketball shorts and a tank top. I then grab one of my hair ties, putting my hair in a ponytail before opening my door again. 

“Do you want to start tomorrow and just go to sleep?” Ray asks as I throw my dress into my laundry basket. I nod. We both get into my bed and I cuddle up against his chest. I let a few tears fall out. Ray brushes through my hair with his hands. “Everything will be okay.” He starts to hum My Queen by Joseph Vincent. I soon find myself calming down and drifting to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

I look at the clock. Twenty more minutes until I’m out of this hell hole. I look back down at my completed test and look around for the tenth time in the last five minutes. No one has gotten up to turn in their test.  _ Fuck it!  _ I get up and turn in my test. My teacher nods and tells me that I could leave.  _ Are you fucking serious? I could have left this whole time. _ I head back to my desk, grab my things, and walk out of the classroom. I walk out of the school and to my car. I throw everything into the back seat before I get into the driver’s seat. I quickly drive home, which luckily only took five minutes. I park my car in the driveway before quickly walking into my house.

“I’m home,” I call out as I lock the front door.

“Hey,” Lindsay says walking towards me. “You’re not supposed to be home for another fifteen minutes.”

“I know,” I reply. “I got out early because I finished my test early.” We walk into the lounge and sit down on the floor. It’s so empty since everyone has already been sent to Austin, put into storage, or sold to someone.

“Well,” she starts, “we’re leaving soon, so are you ready?” I nod. “Oh, and don’t worry about your car. Michael’s parents are going to sell it for you.”

“Good,” I laugh. “I’ve been meaning to sell the thing, but what am I going to drive when we get to Austin?”

“You’ll either take my car or Michael’s car until we could buy one for you,” she tells me.

We look around, which causes me to sigh. “I’m going to miss this place.” She nods. Soon enough, both Michael and Ray walk in. 

“Are you guys ready?” Michael asks. We both nods. I stand up to see that my aunt and uncle are behind them. 

I go up to them and hug them. “I’m going to miss you,” I say. 

“We’re going to miss you too,” they reply. We break apart from the hug.

“Where are your keys?” my uncle asks.

“Just let me grab my things from the car first,” I quickly say before running out to my car. I grab my school bag before handing the keys to my uncle. I give them both a quick hug before I head to Michael's car, which technically is his parents’ car.

They follow us to the airport. The drive to the airport was quick since there wasn’t any traffic. We get to the parking lot and park both cars there. Most of our things were already sent to the Rooster Teeth office since they didn’t want any of my things stolen. We grab the last few boxes and luggage out of the trunk of the car. I turn to my aunt and uncle and give them one last hug.

“Thank you, for everything,” I whisper to them. “I love you.”

“We love you too,” they say. We pull apart as Michael and Lindsay say goodbye to them while Ray goes to grab a luggage cart. Michael hands his dad the keys as I see Ray coming back with two carts. We say one last goodbye before we put all of the luggage in the cart and walk to check in.

“What time is our flight?” I ask Michael as we walk towards our gate.

“About 1:15. Boarding starts at 12:30 though,” he replies. I look at my phone. 12:35. We should have boarded five minutes ago.

Before I had another thought, the person through the intercom says, “We will now be boarding group 1 for flight C653 to Austin.” I look at Michael, Lindsay, and Ray who stand up. I unplug my phone from the charging station, quickly stuffing my charger into my bag before waiting with them in line. Lindsay pushes me in front of her since Michael has my ticket. I follow him into the plane, where he points to a window seat. I look around and notice that we have first class tickets.

“You’re sitting with Ray,” he tells me. I nod as he puts his stuff into the overhead bin. I attempt to put my carry-on bag in the overhead bin. Keyword being attempting since I’m too short to actually fully put it in. Ray comes up behind me and helps me put it in.

“Thanks,” I say.

“No problem,” he replies. We take our seats. I put my backpack underneath my seat. I then look over to see that Lindsay and Michael are already cuddling. I take out my phone, quickly snapping a photo before they see. I post it on twitter since we still have time before the flight takes off.

 

**_@AH_AmyPond:_ ** _ Aww! @AH_Michael and @IAmLindsayJones are cuddling! So cute ^-^ _

 

Within a few minutes, I get a bunch of retweets, favorites, and replies from the RT community. Most of them talk about how cute they are. I look over at them again to see them looking at their phones. They then both look at me, smiling before shaking their heads. 

“You gotta send that to me now,” Michael tells me. I nod, quickly sending it to him before turning my phone off.

After about ten minutes, the safety video starts. I look out my window as the plane starts to drive to the runway. Soon enough we take off. I yawn as I continue to look out the window.

“You tired?” Ray asks. I turn towards him, nodding before I start to shiver. He notices, quickly fixing the fan above us, and grabbing a blanket from my backpack. He puts it over both of us, letting me cuddle into his side. Soon enough, the light turned off signaling that it was safe to move around the cabin. “I have an idea.” I sit up as Ray lifts up the armrest between us. “You can lie down on my lap.” I nod and lay down on my seat as if it were a bed. I look back up at him. “I’ll wake you up when we’re about to land.” I nod and fall back asleep.

About three hours and ten minutes later, I feel Ray shaking me. I yawn and rub my eyes.

“You need to sit up again. We’re going to land in about ten minutes,” Ray tells me. I sit up as he grabs the blanket. He folds it up and puts it into my backpack. We both buckle up our seat belts and put the armrest back down. I rest my head on his shoulder as I start to shiver. Ray gently lifts my head off of his shoulder as he takes off his Twitch jacket. He then hands it to me.

“Are you sure?” I ask.

“Yes, I’m sure,” he laughs. I take the jacket and slip it on. I let my head rest on his shoulder as we wait for the plane to descend. After about ten minutes, the plane lands and we’re finally allowed to get off of the plane. Ray stands up, with me following his actions. He grabs my carryon bag first and hands it to me before he grabs his own. He lets me walk in front of him while we exit the plane. We walk to baggage claim.

“Amy!” I hear a deep voice call out. I turn around to see Geoff. I give him a hug. “Still as short as ever, I see.” I roll my eyes and flip him off. I turn and notice Griffon standing next to him.

“Hi Griffon,” I say.

“Hi Amy,” she says giving me a hug.

“So all of your stuff is at the Rooster Teeth office,” Geoff says.

“Are we going there?” I ask.

He nods. “Wanna ride with us?” he asks

“Sure,” I tell him. I turn around to see Michael and Ray with all of the boxes and luggage. “Mikey, I’m riding with the Ramseys.”

“Alright,” he says, “but you’re helping us load all of these boxes to into the cars.”

“Okay,” I say grabbing my luggage. We start walking towards the cars. Geoff hands Michael the keys as we load up both cars. Since there was still room left in Geoff’s car, we drove straight to the office while the other three head over to the apartment. 

Once we get into the car, Griffon hands me an aux cord. “You can listen to your music.” I nod, grabbing it. I connect my phone and click on End Up Here by 5 Seconds of Summer. By the time the chorus starts, I’m singing along really loudly.

__ How did we end up talking  
__ In the first place  
__ You said you liked my Cobain shirt  
__ Now we’re walking  
__ Back to your place  
__ You’re telling me about how you love that song  
__ About living on a prayer  
__ I’m pretty sure that we’re half way there  
__ But when I wake up next to you  
_ I’ll wonder how  
_ __ How did we end up here

I look over and notice Griffon recording everything. I just smile and continue singing.

“This is what we get for letting the teenage girl pick the music,” Geoff comments, causing Griffon to chuckle.

After the half an hour ride that was spent listening to the 5SOS album, we finally arrive at the office. We all get out laughing. We walk in, and the first people I see are Jack and Ryan. Jack notices me, but I signal him to keep quiet and to distract Ryan. He continues the conversation with Ryan while I sneak up behind him. Once I’m close enough, I jump on the back.

“The Princess is back bitches!” I scream out. Ryan laughs and holds my legs to make sure I don’t fall off of his back. I see Gavin and Meg walk out of the Achievement Hunter office and smile.

“Amy,” they say coming over.

“Hi guys,” I say. 

“What are you doing here?” Jack asks. “I thought you weren’t coming in til tomorrow.”

“I have to pick up all of my stuff,” I reply. “And what do you mean ‘til tomorrow?’ What am I supposed to be doing?”

“For vs!” he explains. “I’m supposed to be challenging you, remember?”

“Oh yeah,” I remember. “I beat Mikey’s ass in Mario Kart.”

“Yeah,” he laughs. “We could always record it today though.”

“Just ask Michael if it’s okay then we can,” I reply.

“Hey Amy,” Ryan says butting in.

“Hi Ryan,” I reply.

“Do you, I don’t know, maybe, get off of my back?” he asks. 

I pretend to think for a moment before saying, “Nah. I’m good.” We all laugh.

“Well,” he starts, “I have to be on The Patch in about ten minutes.” I look at the clock to see it’s 3:47. 

“Then let’s go.” He laughs before pushing me up a bit more to ensure I don’t fall off of his back. “Onward to The Patch set!” I exclaim. The guys all laugh. Ryan takes a few steps before I yell out, “Wait!” I look behind me and find Meg right next to Gavin. “Meg, get on Gavin’s back.” They look at me confused but follow my instructions. I look back towards Ryan, who seems to know what’s happening.

“Geoff, Jack, you might want to film this,” he tells them. The two just nod, taking out their phones.

“Are you recording?” I ask. They nod. “Race you guys to The Patch set!” Ryan starts running. Gavin pauses for a moment before he starts running.

“Gavin! Hurry up!” Meg yells at him laughing. 

“I’m trying!” he yells back. 

We continue to laugh as Ryan and Gavin race onto The Patch.

“What’s going on?” Gus asks as we run in.

“We win!” Ryan and I yell as he sets me on his chair.

“Ballocks!” Gavin yells as he sets Meg down in her chair.

“What the hell just happened?” Gus asks again.

“Ryan and Gavin raced to the set with me and Meg on their backs,” I explain. Gus nods and goes back to looking through his notes.

“Amy, why don’t you join us?” he asks looking up.

“Are you sure?” I question. “I don’t want to intrude on any of this since I would need to review everything and I just landed and all that was supposed to happen was that I got my stuff and-”

“Amy, I’m sure,” he says. “You don’t have to stay here for the full thing.”

“Okay,” I reply.

“You can take Ryan’s seat,” he says.

“Where am I supposed to sit then?” Ryan asks.

“You’re standing,” Gus smirks. I laugh before standing up. 

“You can have your seat back,” I say. He takes his seat but pulls me onto his lap.

“Now the Mad King has captured his princess!” he exclaims.

“The princess needs to be saved,” I hear Ray call out. “Vav, where are you?”

“I’m here X-Ray,” Gavin says running to Ray’s side. I look over to see them.

“This looks like a job for X-Ray and Vav,” the two scream out before running onto the stage. 

“You shall never get the Princess!” Ryan yells out. He stands up, sets me back on his chair, and leaves to go “battle” the two. 

“Looks like you’re filling in for Ryan for a bit,” Meg laughs. I laugh as we look over to Patrick, telling us we have about thirty seconds. We straighten ourselves out as the boys run out of the set. 

“Hello everyone. Welcome to the Patch. This week brought to you by NatureBox and Crunchyroll,” Gus says.

“Yay, Crunchyroll!” I squeal. 

“We’ll talk about that later,” he says. “So we’re joined today with Amy instead of Ryan today.”

“The Mad King is currently in a battle with X-Ray and Vav and will be here shortly when he gets defeated,” I explain. The two start laughing. 

“It’s true though,” Meg adds in. “Whenever Amy is involved, the Mad King is always defeated.” Just then, Ryan runs in.

“I’m here,” he says into his mic. 

“Did the Mad King get defeated?” I ask.

“Surprisingly, no,” he replies. “But you have to go back to help.” I nod. “Thanks for filling in for me.” I stand up, letting him take his seat, as I run over to the Achievement Hunter office. I run in to see that Geoff, Jack, Ray, and Gavin are playing different games while Michael and Lindsay are getting an extra desk set up.

“What’s going on?” I ask.

“Well, we figured that you’re going to be here most of the time we might as well have a desk for you here,” Michael explains. “We’re putting it where Ray’s desk used to be.”

“Well, when Ryan finishes with The Patch, we’re filming a vs,” Lindsay tells me. “It has to be uploaded tomorrow so we sorta have to do it.”

“Okay,” I say, “but what about my stuff?”

“Well, you and Ray can take my car and bring some of your stuff since you have about an hour or so before we film,” Michael says handing me his keys. “Now don’t crash it.”

“I won’t,” I reply. I head over to Ray, who is listening to music on the couch, and rest my head on his shoulder. He takes off his headphones and looks over at me.

“Hi,” he says.

“Hi,” I say. “You’re coming with me.”

He sighs. “I’m helping you carry your stuff, aren’t I?” I nod. “Well, let’s go.” Gavin notices us and turns to us.

“Can I come?” he asks.

“Sure,” I answer. We all grab a box and bring it to Michael's car. The two boys set the boxes by the car and go back inside to grab more. While I put the boxes that are already here inside the trunk, Blaine walks out.

“Amy,” he says.

“Hi Blaine,” I reply as I put the last box inside of the trunk.

“Do you need any help?” he asks.

“Gavin and Ray are walking back and forth bringing me boxes to put in the car. If you want, you can help with that,” I offer. He nods as the other two walk out with boxes.

Blaine walks back inside with them, grabbing a few more boxes before the trunk and part of the backseat. Once we have everything that we could have loaded, Gavin and Blaine jump into the back seats while Ray gets into the passenger seat. I get into the driver’s seat and hand Ray my phone.

“You know what to do,” I say as I start the car. He unlocks my phone and looks through my songs. 

“What are you in the mood for?” he asks. 

“Umm,” I think. “Play an All Time Low song.” He nods before playing Toxic Valentine. I smile and start singing along loudly. 

__ Sex and white lies  
__ Handcuffs and alibis  
__ She lays her halo on the pillow where she sleeps  
__ Her heart beats red wine  
_ My toxic valentine  
_ __ Lays her halo on the pillow that used to be mine

I notice that Ray takes out his phone and starts recording. I smile and continue singing until the end of the song. By the end of the song, Ray scrolls through my phone again and starts playing _Lying is the Most Fun a Girl Could Have Without Taking Off Her Clothes_ by Panic! At The Disco. My smile gets even bigger as I sing along.

__ Is it still me that makes you sweat?  
__ Am I who you think about in bed?  
__ When the lights are dim and your hands are shaking as you're sliding off your dress?  
__ Then think of what you did  
_ And how I hope to God he was worth it.  
_ __ When the lights are dim and your heart is racing as your fingers touch his skin.

__ I've got more wit, a better kiss, a hotter touch, a better fuck  
__ Than any boy you'll ever meet, sweetie you had me  
__ Girl I was it, look past the sweat, a better love deserving of  
_ Exchanging body heat in the passenger seat?  
_ __ No, no, no, you know it will always just be me

At that point, Gavin starts recording as Ray starts singing along with me.

__ Let's get these teen hearts beating. Faster, faster  
__ So testosterone boys and harlequin girls,  
__ Will you dance to this beat, and hold a lover close?  
_ So testosterone boys and harlequin girls,  
_ __ Will you dance to this beat, and hold a lover close?

Blaine and Gavin soon join us as we finish the song. By the end of the song, we’re laughing as I pull up into the parking lot. I turn off the engine and unlock the doors. We all get out and while they unload the car, I run up to the apartment and unlock the doors. As the boys bring in the boxes, I start bringing them to my room and unpack them. After about ten minutes, they finish bringing everything in.

“Amy,” I hear Ray call out. 

“I’m in my room,” I call back out. I hear sets of feet walk towards my room. “What do you need?”

“We gotta head back soon,” he tells me. “The Patch ends in like 20 minutes.”

“Well, let me finish unpacking this box first,” I say as I take out the last few books and journals I had in there. I put them on top of my bed. I turn around and ask Ray for the keys. He hands them to me. “Alright, let’s go.”

We all head back to the car and make our journey back to the office. After ten minutes of singing along loudly to whatever songs were played, we finally pulled into the parking lot. I park the car and kicked everyone out of it before locking the doors. We start walking to the studio before someone picks me up. I look over to see that it’s Blaine.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

“Carrying you back,” he says.

“Well can you put me in a better position. This feels really uncomfortable,” I tell him.

“Sure,” he replies. He puts me back on the ground only to pick me back up bridal style. I feel a wave of tiredness hit me as I cuddle up into his chest. “You tired?” I just nod and cuddle more into his chest. He smiles and brings me into the Achievement Hunter office. He lays me down on the couch and sits on the floor beside me. 

“What are you doing?” I ask.

“What do you mean?” he questions.

“Why are you staying here with me? I mean, don’t you have work to do?” I say.

“Well,” he starts, “I really don’t have much to do at the moment, but I would much rather stay here with you.” At this point, I blush. “Now go to sleep. You really need it, especially if you’re going to film as soon as Ryan gets here.” I nod, letting myself fall asleep.

About twenty minutes later, I wake up. I look around to see that the guys are setting up. I feel a weight on my legs. I look down to see that Blaine is resting his head on my legs. I shake him, trying to wake him up.

“Blaine,” I whisper in his ear. “Wake up.” He stirs a bit before his eyes flutter open. He lets out a yawn, lifting his head up.

“Morning sleeping beauty,” he teases.

“Hi,” I hum. I sit up, letting Blaine take a seat on the couch with me. I let my head rest on his shoulder as we wait the Achievement Hunters set up. Michael notices us. 

“You okay Bitch Cousin?” he asks me.

“Just tired Asshole Cousin,” I smirk. He laughs. 

“We’re about to start filming,” he tells me. I nod, standing up.

“I’ll see you later Amy,” Blaine says standing up. He gives me a hug, making me blush, before he leaves the office. 

“You like him, don’t you?” Lindsay asks.

“No,” I reply cautiously. “He’s just a really good friend.”

“Yeah, a good friend that makes you blush,” she smirks.

I laugh. “Everything makes me blush,” I retort. 

Lindsay opens her mouth to say something, but Michael cuts her off. “Come on, we’re going to film now,” he says. Lindsay just nods and walks over to Michael. I look around the room and notice that Matt and Jeremy are here.

“Hey Amy,” Jeremy says as I stand next to him.

“Hi,” I say giving him a side hug.

“Can I get a hug too?” Matt asks. I laugh and nod, giving him a side hug. 

“Hey Matt,” I say.

“Hey Amy,” he replies. He then hands me the two belts and the cock trophy. They all stand by each other while I stand off to the side. Caleb and Kdin then walk in.

“Hey Caleb. Hey Kdin,” I say.

“Hey Amy,” they reply. They each give me a hug before they take out their phones to record. 

“Are you going to be in this Ray?” I ask him.

“Sure, why not,” he replies coming to my side. I stand next to Caleb as they start filming.

“VS,” Geoff yells. “Alright, so last week we had a new challenger who beat Michael in Mario Kart.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right,” Michael says.

“Now the question is, where is our champion?” Geoff asks. At this point, Kdin pans the camera over to where I am hiding behind Caleb.

“So Caleb is covering the VS champion,” he says.

“Not my fault she’s so small,” Caleb says. I laugh as I step in front of Caleb.

“There she is,” Ray says.

“Hi guys,” I say looking directly into Caleb’s phone.

“Okay so this week, Jack is the challenger,” Geoff says.

“That is correct Geoff,” Jack replies. “So I figured that Amy is good at almost every type of video game since she hangs out with us and we teach her every strategy we fucking have to help her beat the shit out of us. I thought we would try something a bit different, but it requires us to go off site.” 

“Oh, it’s a good thing I still have Michael’s keys then,” I say as I take them my pocket.

“Am I going to get those back?” Michael asks.

“You will later,” I smirk.

The guys laugh as we walk out the door. We all walk into the parking lot. We then split up into three groups. Geoff has Michael, Lindsay, and Matt in his car while Jack has Ryan, Jeremy, and Kdin in his. That leaves me with Ray, Gavin, and Caleb. 

“So does anyone want to tell me where we’re going so I don’t get lost?” I ask them. 

“I’ll text you the address,” Jack says. A minute later, I get a text message with the address.

“Thanks,” I say before getting into Michael's car. I hand my phone to Ray, who is obviously sitting in the passenger seat. “Get the directions for me.” He nods as I start up the car. “Remember, you’re my navigator.” 

“Do you want me to pick a song first?” Ray asks once he has the directions up.

“Yes please,” I reply as I pull out of the parking space. Ray goes to my music and plays my Fly Away Hero playlist. Gasoline starts to play. I let out a small squeal as I follow the car in front of me, which happens to be Jack’s. I follow him for the first five minutes before I get caught at a stoplight.

“So at the next street, you’re going to want to take a left,” Ray tells me. I nod as the light turns green. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice that Caleb pulls out his phone and starts recording.

“Any thoughts?” Caleb asks. “Have any idea on what you’re in for?”

“I’m just way too tired to think,” I reply. “I’m scared. I shouldn’t even be outside for this long.” 

This causes the guys to laugh. After ten more minutes of driving, we pull into the parking lot, where I park my car next to Geoff’s. We all get out, with Caleb still recording, and walk in. I look around and notice that we’re in an arcade. Jack sees us and hands me my tokens. He leads me to a basketball machine.

He then turns to me and says, “You and me are going head to head in basketball.”

“Alright,” I reply smirking. I am so glad that I wore basketball shorts and a tank top. “Lindsay, do you have a hair tie?” She nods and hands me one. I put my hair up into a high ponytail.

“So how are you going to do this?” Gavin asks.

“First one to win three games,” Jack explains.

We put our tokens in and link our games. The first game, Jack beats me by ten points. The second game, I win by 15 points. The third game, I beat him by 5 points. The fourth game, Jack wins by 3 points.

“Oh, this is interesting,” Matt says.

“Next one to win this one is the champion,” Ryan adds on. 

Jack and I put our tokens in and link up our games. Forty seconds are on the clock. The moment the buzzer rings, I start shooting nonstop. I look over at Jack’s score to see that I’m beating him by about two points. Within the last ten seconds of the game, I make every three point shot I take. The buzzer rings again, signaling that it’s the end of the game. I look at the score to see that I beat him by 15 points.

“Yes!” I exclaim. 

I turn to Jack and shake his hand as he says, “Good game.”

“Ditto,” I reply.

“So I honestly couldn’t predict that one, especially since they were so close,” Geoff says. “Anyways join us next week when Lindsay challenges Amy.” Both Caleb and Kdin pan on me before the stop recording. 

“Michael,” I start, “can I stay here for a bit and continue to play basketball?”

“Uhh, sure,” he says. “We might as well get dinner while we’re here.”

“You guys want to join us?” I ask turning to the guys.

“Why not,” Ryan says. The rest of the guys agree.

“So, I’m just going to continue with basketball for now,” I say. “Tell me when the food’s here.” The guys nod. I play about two more games before I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around to see a guy that’s about 5’9 and seems to be around my age.

“Mind if I join you?” he asks.

“Not at all,” I reply. We link up our games before we decide on playing the pushback mode.

“So, I saw you playing with that one guy earlier,” he says. “You were pretty good.”

“Thanks,” I reply. “You don’t seem that bad yourself.”

I look over to see him smiling a bit. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you here before. What’s your name?” he asks.

“Who’s asking?” I question as we get to the last ten seconds of the game.

“A guy who’s talking to a really cute girl,” he replies. This causes me to smile as the ball goes in the basket right when the buzzer rings. I look at the scores to see that we both scored 75 points.

“You’re not bad,” I say turning towards him.

“At basketball or at flirting?” he asks leaning against the game.

“Both,” I smirk. This causes both of us to let out a small laugh. “I’m Amelia.”

“Peyton,” he says.

“Nice to meet you,” I smile.

“The pleasure’s all mine,” he chuckles. “So, how come I’ve never seen you here before?”

“I just moved here from New Jersey,” I answer. “You up for playing another game of basketball?”

“I have a better idea,” he grins. He takes my hand, which causes me to blush. He walks me over to the skee ball machines. “How good are you at skee ball?”

“I’m decent at it,” I say. 

“How about this,” he starts, “loser buys winner a drink.”

“Alright,” I reply. “I would love to get a free drink.” He laughs. We put our tokens in and throw our balls. After our ten balls, we end up getting the same score. “Looks like we tied.”

“I think you’re the winner though,” he remarks. “You were going to get a free drink anyways.” I smile. 

“Are you sure?” I question. “I mean, no one technically won so it wouldn’t be fair that I would get the free drink.”

“Well think of it as a welcome to Austin gift,” he says. He takes my hand again as we head up to the counter. 

“Hi, how may I help you?” the cashier says.

“What do you want?” he asks me.

“A chocolate milkshake,” I reply.

“Two chocolate milkshakes,” he tells her.

“Alright, that would be $5.25.” He takes out his money and pays for it. “Thank you, and have a nice day.” We stand off to the side while we wait for our milkshakes. “So, what were you doing earlier when you were playing basketball?”

“Oh, just filming something for my cousin’s company,” I reply. “He works at Rooster Teeth.”

“That’s cool,” he replies. “My friends have told me about their videos. I haven’t been able to watch them yet because I’m usually really busy, but I think the videos will be ten times better now that I know that you’re in them.” This causes me to blush even harder.

“Two chocolate milkshakes,” the cashier says. Peyton walks up, grabs them, and hands me mine.

“I’m only in a few of them,” I reply, “but they still are worth checking out.” He smiles as he leads me to a booth. He lets me take a seat first, as he sits across from me.

“So, Amelia, tell me about yourself,” he says.

“Well, what do you want to know about me?” I ask.

“Let’s start with-,” Before he could finish what he was saying, Michael walks up to us, giving Peyton a death glare.

“There you are Amy,” he starts, “we’ve been looking for you.”

“I’ve just been here with Peyton,” I say with a hint of irritation.

“Well the food is here,” he says grabbing my arm. I quickly grab my milkshake.

“It was nice meeting you,” I say as Michael drags me to where the rest of the guys were. As I take a seat next to Ray, I give him a death glare.

“What the hell was that?” he asks me.

“What?” I ask acting clueless.

“Whatever was happening between you and that guy back there,” he says.

“The thing back there where two people try to get to know each,” I retort.

“He was trying to hook up with you,” he argues. 

“He was just trying to get to know me!”

“You don’t know that.”

“Neither do you!” I practically yell.

“Guys!” Lindsay says getting us to calm down. “Let’s just eat so we can go back to the office.” We both let out sighs and slump into our seats. I look over to see that Peyton is with a group of three guys and two girls. I see him look over in my direction. He gives me a wink before talking with his group of friends. I let out a smile as I turn towards Ray, who is handing me a plate.

“Is that the guy you were flirting with earlier?” he asks quiet enough that no one hears. 

“Shut up,” I say giving Ray a slight shove. He laughs, handing me a slice of pizza. I eat it quickly, just so I can go back to see him. The guys are caught up in their own conversation while I zone out.

“Amy, do you want to play a game of DDR before we leave?” Ray asks, bringing me back into reality.

“Hell yeah!” I exclaim. 

“We’ll be right back,” he tells them. The guys nod as Caleb and Gavin get up. They follow us and grab their phones out.

“What are you guys doing?” I ask as we walk to the DDR machine.

“Filming an RT life,” Caleb replies. I just shrug and continue walking. When Ray and I get to the machine, we quickly put our tokens in and play on light since we just ate.

“So how many games of this are we playing?” I ask him.

“Until the fucks over there decide they want to leave,” he replies. 

“Alright,” I say. We let Caleb and Gavin pick the songs as we played all three rounds of the game. During the middle of the third round, I could see Peyton and his friends watching Ray and I play. As I get all perfects on this song, I look over to Ray. “Are we playing another game?”

“Sure,” he replies. Before I grab more tokens, I feel a tap on my shoulder.

“What do you want fucktards?” I ask expecting it to be either Gavin or Caleb.

“I don’t think you’re thinking of the right person,” I hear a different voice say. I turn around to see that it’s Peyton. 

“Oh,” I blush. “Hi.”

“Do you mind if I play?” he asks. I look over to Ray.

“Yeah,” he says. “You can take my spot.” As Peyton takes Ray’s spot and puts his tokens in, I notice that Caleb and Gavin are still recording. I then put my tokens in.

“You can pick the song,” he tells me. I nod and just randomly scroll and start one randomly. 

“You’re not doing that bad,” I say halfway through the song.

“You seem to be really focused in this,” he notes.

“What can I say? I’m just someone who loves playing DDR,” I reply. The song ends and our scores are nearly the same. “You’re turn to pick a song.” He does the same thing I did and picks a random song. We get the same score for that song too.

“Your turn to pick a song,” he tells me. I turn towards Ray.

“Ray, pick a song,” I say. Ray walks over to us and picks a random song.

As the song starts, I notice Michael, Lindsay, Matt, and Kdin walking over to us. By the expression on his face, I can tell Michael doesn’t seem too happy. Oh well, it’s my life, not his. I shrug it off and focus on the game.

“You know, you look really pretty when you’re focused on something,” he comments. 

“Thank you,” I giggle.  _ Wait, did I just giggle?  _ I shake it off and continue to focus on the screen in front of me. As the song ends, we see that we get roughly the same score. “You’re not too bad.”

“Ditto,” he says. 

“Guys, we have to go,” Michael pipes up. We all nod and everyone, except me and Ray, starts walking.

I look towards Peyton and say, “It was nice meeting you.” I walk next to Ray as we walk back to the table. I grab my milkshake, drinking the rest of it before throwing it away. We then all head towards the parking lot. Ray and I are walking in the back.

“So that was your mystery guy that you were flirting with,” he teases.

“Shut up,” I say pushing Ray. Before Ray could say anything else, I could hear someone call my name out.

“Hey Amelia,” he says. I turn around to see Peyton chasing after me. I stop walking and wait for him to catch up. 

“Hi,” I say, not knowing what to do. I look back to make sure Michael doesn’t know what’s going on. Luckily, he’s not looking. Ray starts walking away slowly since he didn’t want to stand there awkwardly.

“I would love to hang out with you again,” he starts. “Would it be possible for me to get your number?” 

“Of course,” I immediately answer. He smiles, taking out his phone. I mirror his actions as I hand him my phone while he hands me his. We put our numbers in each other's phones before returning them.

“Can’t wait to see you again Amelia,” he smiles.

“See you later Peyton,” I grin. We both turn around and start walking away from each other. I quickly catch up with Ray.

“So you got his number?” he asks.

“Yeah,” I admit. “Did Michael see any of this?”

“Not a single thing,” he assures me. I let out a sigh. We walk to the car to see Gavin and Caleb waiting. I unlock the car and get into the passenger seat. I hand Ray my phone, letting him pick a song as I pull out of the parking lot. I just smile and shake my head as he plays the song With You by Kids In Color. He always knows what to play.

We drive for about fifteen minutes before we pull up into the RT parking lot. Once I park the car, I turn towards Ray and Gavin and say, “You guys do know that you’re still helping me load boxes into the car, right?” They groan but reluctantly help out.

We head inside to see that Michael, Lindsay, and Meg are stacking boxes by the door. We load all of the boxes Michael's car as well as Meg’s. After about twenty minutes, we all head over to the apartment. Ray and I ride with Lindsay and Michael since I finally gave him back his keys. Gavin obviously rides with Meg. The ride to the apartment was short. Michael hands me the keys again to unlock the door.

I run up the stairs and unlock the door with Ray following close behind me.

“Can I help you unpack so I don’t have to carry boxes?” he asks.

I laugh and shake my head. “Of course.” We bring two of the boxes that were in the living room into my room. Both boxes had books in them.

“You have a lot of books and journals,” Ray comments as we take them out of the box.

“Shut up,” I blush. “I just love reading and writing.”

“Which is why a bunch of your classes are AP classes,” he notes. I just roll my eyes. “Having AP classes is a good thing.”

“Yeah, but I was in a university that let me take all of my high school courses while I was taking college courses,” I say. “Plus, I was studying to get my associates degree in nursing already. I had like two more years left too.”

“That’s why we found a school here that’ll let you do that,” he tells me. I give him a look of hope. “We really did.” 

“Yay,” I squeal. “Wait, do you know if I get to choose my classes?”

“Not sure about that,” he replies.

“Hey, Amy,” I hear Michael call. I sigh.

“What,” I call out. I look towards my door to see him leaning on the frame.

“Ray, can I talk to Amy for a bit?” he asks. I look towards Ray who nods. He leaves the room. I ignore the fact that he’s there and continue putting away my books. He grabs a stack of books and puts it on my desk. He then takes a seat on my bed, motioning me to do the same.

“What do you want?” I question not really wanting to deal with him.

“Look, I know you’re probably going to say something like ‘I’m 16, turning 17 in two months. You have to learn that I’m growing up.’ I know that, but listen to me fully before you say anything.” I motion him to continue. “I know what happened back at the arcade was just you being a teenager, and I know this isn’t an excuse, but I just wanted to protect you. I don’t want any guy to break your heart again.” I sigh. “With everything that’s been going on, I don’t want you getting too close to anyone.”

“I know that,” I whisper. “I still have trust issues, and I’m not letting my walls down for some guy I just met.”

“I know you won’t. If anything, you would kick the shit out of him if he tried anything out of line,” he chuckles. This causes me to laugh. “So, we good?”

“Yeah,” I say. “We’re good.” I give him a hug. “What time is it?”

“Uhh, 9:45,” he says. I yawn.

“Well, I’m gonna go to sleep,” I say. “I’m way too tired.”

“Alright,” he says. He gives me a hug. “Good night Bitch Cousin.”

“Night Asshole Cousin,” I smile. He walks out of my room, closing the door. I grab the rest of my books off my bed and set them on my desk. I grab my charger from my backpack and plug it in, letting my phone charge. I turn off the lights and get in my bed, pulling my covers over me. Before I fall asleep, I get a text.

**_From: Peyton  
_ ** _ Goodnight Amelia Pond <3 ~Rory Williams _

I smile and text him back.

**_To: Peyton  
_ ** _ I take it you’re a Doctor Who fan ~Amelia Pond _

**_From: Peyton  
_ ** _ Well, I started watching a few days ago ~Rory Williams _

**_To: Peyton  
_ ** _ Alright, well I’m really tired so I’m going to go to sleep. Night! ~Amelia Pond _

**_From: Peyton  
_ ** _ Good night beautiful ~Rory Williams _

That night, I fell asleep with a smile on my face.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, I wake up. I check my phone for the time. 6:47. I take my phone with me as I walk into the living room. I see that Gavin, Meg, Ray, and Tina are all here. I chuckle, shaking my head before proceeding to the kitchen. I look in the fridge to see that there are eggs, milk, and strawberries. I look around the rest of the kitchen and find bananas, a jar of Nutella, sugar, bread, and ground cinnamon. Well, I have all the ingredients for french toast roll ups. I get everything ready and start cooking. After about 10 minutes of getting everything to cook, my phone vibrates, signaling that I have a text.

**_From: Peyton  
_ ** _ Morning beautiful. Hope you have a wonderful day. ~Rory Williams _

This causes me to smile.

**_To: Peyton  
_ ** _ Morning! Hope you have the most amazing day :) ~Amelia Pond _

Another ten minutes go by when I feel someone wrap their arms around my stomach and rest their head on my shoulder.

“Smells good. Whatcha making?” Ray asks.

“French toast roll ups,” I reply. I put the last batch of french toast roll ups in the pan. My phone vibrates once again, signaling that I have another text.

“Is it the mystery guy from last night?” Ray asks grabbing my phone and walking to the opposite side of the kitchen.

“Give me back my phone,” I say trying my best to focus on cooking.

“So it is him!” he exclaims before looking into the living room to make sure that no one woke up.

“You know that _mystery boy_ has a name,” I retort.

“I know,” he smirks. I put the last of the french toast roll ups on the plate and bring it to the dining table. “So, what is mystery boy’s name?”

“You didn’t look at the text?” I ask since I thought he did.

“Nope,” he answers. “I’m not that big of an asshole.” He hands me back my phone.

“His name is Peyton,” I tell him. 

“He seems like a nice guy,” he notes. “I’m still interrogating him though.” I laugh as I check the text.

**_From: Peyton  
_ ** _ It’s already amazing since you texted back ~Rory Williams _

This causes me to blush.

**_To: Peyton  
_ ** _ That’s so cliche, but it’s adorable ~Amelia Pond _

“Does Amelia have a _wittle_ crush,” Ray teases. “He’s already made you blush.”

“Shut up,” I say slapping his arm. At that point, I hear the bedroom door open. Ray and I both look to see Mikey walk out of the room. “Morning Asshole Cousin.”

“Morning Bitch Cousin,” he yawns as he walks into the kitchen. He grabs a plate and a few french toast roll ups, taking a seat at the dining table. I grab both Ray and I plates. We both take a seat at the dining table and take our french toast roll ups.

After a few minutes, the rest of the people start waking up and join us in eating.

“These are delicious,” Meg says as she takes another bite. “Who made these?”

“Amy did,” Ray replies immediately. 

“Do you think you can make some more to bring to the office?” Gavin asks.

“Sure,” I shrug. “As long as you get me more ingredients since we’re low on bread, strawberries, bananas, and eggs.”

“Deal,” he says. “You can make them at the office.”

“Is there a place to make them?” I ask.

“I can bring our electrical stove,” Meg says.

“Alright,” I reply. “I guess I’m making them there, but you gotta help me buy the ingredients.”

“I can grab them on our way to the office,” she tells me. I nod.

“I’m gonna go get ready,” I say. I put my plate in the sink before walking to my room. I look in my luggage and take out a pair of shorts and my Vav shirt. I bring my clothes into the bathroom and lock the door behind me. I turn the shower on, stripping off my clothes before stepping into the shower. I take a quick ten-minute shower before turning off the shower. I reach out to grab a towel before realizing I forgot one. 

“Mikey! Lindsay! Someone!” I call out. 

“What?” I hear Michael yell back.

“I forgot my towel.” I hear him sigh before chuckling. After a minute, I hear some unlock the door, opening it. 

“Here you go Bitch Cousin,” Michael says as puts the towel on the counter. He then leaves, closing the door. I quickly get out and dry myself with the towel before putting lotion on. Once I finish, I throw my clothes on.

I walk into my room, throwing my dirty clothes and towel into a corner and look on my bed for my phone.

“Looking for this?” I hear someone say behind me. I turn around to see Michael holding my phone in his hand. I nod and walk towards him. “You gotta catch me first.” Before I can process what’s going on, he sprints off towards the kitchen. I grab my converse and chase after him. I see him run out the front door. I catch up to him and tackle him before we get to the stairs.

“Got you,” I smirk holding my hand out for my phone. He hands finally gives up and hands me my phone. I get off of him and help him up.

“So,” he starts as we walk back, “who’s Peyton?”

“The guy from the arcade yesterday,” I answer.

“The one who was flirting with you?” I look over to see that his face is a mixture of emotions. I’m not quite sure which ones though.

“Yes,” I answer cautiously. 

“I want to meet him,” he blurts out.

“What?”  _ Why would he want to meet him?  _

“I want to meet him,” he repeats. “I want to make sure that he isn’t going to do anything to hurt you.”

“I just met him,” I comment. “Will you let me become really good friends with him first?”

“Fine,” he sighs. “But I get to meet him first.”

“Fine,” I groan. We laugh and walk back into the apartment. 

“Come on guys, we gotta go now,” Lindsay says pushing us out the doors.

“I don’t even have my shoes on yet,” I mention as she closes the door. 

“Michael carry her to the car,” she says. “Just put them on when you get in there.” I nod as Michael picks me up. We rush down to the parking lot. Ray catches up with us and gets in the car. Michael puts me into the back seat before getting into the passenger seat. I quickly slip on my shoes and put my seatbelt on. Lindsay then hands me my Soul Eater messenger bag. “I packed your laptop, chargers for both your laptop and phone, earphones, wallet, your keys, journal, sketch pad, and a bunch of pens, pencils, and sharpies.”

“Thanks,” I say. I then turn towards Ray and ask, “How come you’re coming with us? I thought you would have gone home.”

“Can’t get rid of me that quickly,” he jokes. “I gotta do lines for X-Ray and Vav, and Michael wanted me to help set up your desk. Burnie also wanted to talk to me about this secret project.”

I nod, quickly opening my bag to look for my earphones. I grab them and plug them in. Before I can even pick a song, I feel Ray tap my shoulder. I look over to him.

“Can I listen with you too?” he asks. I nod and take out one of my earphones, handing it to him. Before he puts it in, Michael throws me an aux cord.

“We’ll listen to your music on the way to work,” he says. I nod, unplugging my earphones, replacing them with the aux cord. I then start playing Beautiful Soul by Jesse Mccartney.

“Taking it back all the way to 2004,” Ray comments with a small chuckle. I nod and start singing along.

__ I don’t want another pretty face  
__ I don’t want just anyone to hold  
_ I don’t want my love to go to waste  
_ __ I want you and your beautiful soul

Ray soon joins in with me, with Michael taking his phone out to record. After the second verse, Michael and Lindsay start singing along. As the song ends, Lindsay pulls up into the parking lot. I unplug my phone and put it into my pocket. I pull my bag over my shoulder and get out of the car. I walk ahead of them and into the office, where I’m greeted by Kara, who decides to give me a hug.

“Hey Amy,” she says. “Meg told me to tell you to meet her in the kitchen.”

“Alright,” I reply. I walk to the kitchen to see Meg putting a bunch of different ingredients around. “Hey Meg.”

“Aww, you and Gavin are matching,” she comments. 

“What?” I say. At that exact moment, Gavin walks out of the AH office. I look to see he’s wearing a pair of cargo shorts and his Vav shirt. “We’re matching.”

Gavin looks down at his shirt then at me. “I guess we are,” he chuckles. Just then Ray, Michael, and Lindsay walk in. I notice that Ray is wearing his X-Ray shirt. “X-Ray!”

“Vav and another Vav!” Ray yells. “How did we not notice each other’s shirts this morning?”

“I have no idea,” I answer.

“Anyways,” Meg says, causing all of us to look towards her. “I have all of your ingredients for french toast roll ups.”

“I guess I’m actually making them then,” I reply. “Does anyone want to help me?” Everyone mumbles and excuse before slowly walking away. “Fine, I guess I’ll make them myself.” Everyone then rushes to their offices, causing me to laugh. I set down my messenger bag, getting everything set up before I start cutting the crusts off of the bread.

“Hey Amy,” Ryan says as he walks by. “What are you doing?”

“Making french toast roll ups,” I reply as I grab my messenger bag off the floor. I put it on one of the tables before I grab my laptop.

“Oh, do you want any help?” he offers.

“Are you sure you want to help me?” I ask.

“Well, I can help until Geoff decides he needs me to record something,” he replies.

“Alright, go wash your hands and start cutting the crusts off of the bread,” I instruct him. He nods. I log into my laptop and click go straight to YouTube. “Do you think anyone would mind that I’m blasting my music while cooking?”

“Umm, I don’t think anyone is recording anything right now, so I think you’re fine,” he answers. I shrug and start playing Dial Tones by As It Is. I then check my phone to see a text from Peyton that was sent 20 minutes ago.

**_From: Peyton  
_ ** _ Well if anything, you’re probably the adorable one here ~Rory Williams _

I chuckle a bit before thinking of a comeback. Once I think of one, I quickly send it to him.

**_To: Peyton  
_ ** _ I am not adorable. If anything, I’m sexy as fuck ~Amelia Pond _

I wash my hands and help Ryan finish cutting all of the crusts off. After a few more minutes, we finish. “Hey Ryan, do you know if there’s a rolling pin anywhere?” I ask.

“Not that I know of,” he replies. I look in the bag of cooking things Meg brought and I luckily find two rolling pins. I hand one to Ryan and start flattening all of the bread.

“Ryan,” Geoff says coming out of the office, “time to record a GTA Let’s Play.”

“Duty calls,” Ryan says. “Have fun making the french toast roll ups.”

“You’re making french toast roll ups?” Geoff asks. I nod. “You better save Griffon some. She’s coming here at 11.”

“Alright,” I tell him. Ryan and Geoff disappear into the AH office. I lower the volume of my music before I start playing Can’t Save Myself by As It Is. As soon as I’m done flattening all of the pieces of bread, Burnie and Gus walk by.

“Amy,” Burnie starts, “what are you doing?”

“Meg asked me to make french toast roll ups for everyone,” I reply as I open a container of strawberries.

“Alright,” the two say.

“I get the first one though,” Gus adds in.

“I’m not guaranteeing it,” I smirk as I finish washing all of the strawberries. They both let out a small laugh before leaving.

I start cutting the strawberries when I get a text. I wipe my hands dry before I check my phone.

**_From: Peyton  
_ ** _ Whatever you say, Pond. Anyways, are you busy today? ~Rory Williams _

**_To: Peyton  
_ ** _ I’m sorta at my cousin’s work. Why? ~Amelia Pond _

**_From: Peyton  
_ ** _ I really wanted to hang out today.  ~Rory Williams _

**_To: Peyton  
_ ** _ I could see if you could swing by here and hang out if you’re okay with it. ~Amelia Pond _

**_From: Peyton  
_ ** _ I’m cool with that ~Rory Williams _

I run to the front of the office to where Kara is.

“Hey Kara,” I say as I walk over to her. “Do you think it’ll be okay if I invite a friend over here today?”

“Umm, I think it should be fine. Check in with Burnie to make sure,” she says. I nod, quickly running to his office. I knock before walking in.

“Hey, weren’t you cooking french toast roll ups just a minute ago?” he asks. I nod. “Is there anything you need?”

“Is there a chance that a friend can hang out here today?” I ask. “I promise you he won’t do anything bad.”

“Sure,” he says. I let out a squeal before he cuts me off. “Make sure Michael’s okay with it though, mainly because I don’t want him coming to me to complain that I let you bring a boy on set.”

“Okay,” I say. “Thank you!” I run out to the AH office where they’re in the middle of their Let’s Play.

“Hey, Amy’s here,” Michael says since he’s the first one to notice me. 

I walk up to him and quickly say hi into his mic. 

“I thought you were cooking french toast roll ups?” Geoff asks. 

“I was, but I had to ask Michael something first,” I reply. I grab a piece of paper and a pen off of his desk and quickly write down a note that read:  _ Can Peyton please come here to hang out? Please. _

I hand it to Mikey, who scans over it. He scribbles down something and hands it to me.  _ Fine,  _ it read. I squeal loudly into his mic.

“What just happened?” Gavin asks as Ryan kills him. “Ballocks!”

“Nothing,” I reply as I slowly back away from the guys.

“You’re lucky we’re in the middle of a Let’s Play right now,” Ryan says. “Otherwise we would have tickled you ‘til you told us.”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” I wink before walking out. I grab my phone and text Peyton back.

**_From: Peyton  
_ ** _ So, if you still wanna hang out, you can swing my the office ~Amelia Pond _

A minute after I send it, my phone starts ringing. I look to see that Peyton’s calling me, and I answer it without hesitation.

“Hello,” I say into the phone.

“Hey,” he replies. “So it’s cool if I swing down there right?”

“Yeah,” I answer. “Do you need the address or would you rather meet somewhere close by so you can walk in with me?”

“Umm, just text me the address,” he says. “About how far from the arcade?”

“About a fifteen-minute drive,” I tell him. I quickly text him the address. “So I sent you the address.”

“Okay, is there anything else I need to know?” he questions.

“Well, the receptionist’s name is Kara. Just tell her you’re looking for me,” I tell him.

“Aw, you’re not going to be waiting for me at the front?” he teases.

“Nope, sorry,” I reply.

“Alright,” he chuckles. “Well, I’ll see you in about 20 minutes.”

“See you then.” I hang up and continue cutting up the strawberries. I decide to go on Pandora since I don’t want to keep thinking of different songs to play. I go on my Fly Away Hero station, and the first song that plays is Gasoline. I smile and start singing along. Once I finish cutting up the strawberries, I start peeling and cutting the bananas. After a few more songs, I see Kara walk towards me, with Peyton a few steps behind here.

“Amy, your friend’s here,” she tells me. 

“Thanks Kara,” I reply. She walks away leaving me alone with Peyton. “Hi.”

“Hey,” he says. “What are you doing?”

“I’m making french toast roll ups for everyone,” I reply as I cut the last banana up for now. “Want to help me?”

“Sure,” he replies. “What do you need me to do?”

“Well, I need you to fill about half of these with cream cheese,” I instruct him. “Wash your hands first.” He nods, quickly washing his hands before opening the container of cream cheese. He fills the ends of them with cream cheese while I fill the other half with Nutella. Soon enough, pandora starts playing Year 3000. I squeal and start singing along. Peyton just laughs at me. “What?”

“You’re just so cute,” he laughs. “And you’re a really good singer.”

“Shush, I already told you, I’m not cute,” I say.

“You just said you weren’t adorable. You said nothing about being cute,” he retorts.

“Right, but I did say I was sexy as fuck,” I argue.

“Nah, you’re more adorable,” he teases. I smirk as I come up with an idea. I use my knife to put some Nutella on my finger. I then smudge it on Peyton’s face.

“Oops, sorry,” I say pretending to be innocent.

“Oh, you’re on,” he says before filling his hand with cream cheese. He smears it on my face. This turns into an all out war. We both fling either Nutella or cream cheese on each other. We stop as soon as Meg and Ashley walk by.

“What’s going on here?” Ashley asks.

“Food war,” I reply smiling innocently.

“Okay,” the two say as they take out their phones. 

“You can continue,” Meg says as they start recording. I shrug and smear Nutella across Peyton’s face. I start running outside, Peyton chasing after me as Ashley and Meg follow behind us. He throws a glob of cream cheese at me, which hits my hair. We continue our food war for a few more minutes until we run out of Nutella and cream cheese.

“That was fun,” Peyton notes.

“It was,” I agree smiling. I look over to see that Meg and Ashley are running back inside. They’re most likely going to show Burnie what happened. “We should probably clean up inside before we get in trouble.”

“Yeah,” he replies. We walk back in only to have Meg take a picture of us. 

“You guys look so cute,” she comments. “Amy, where’s your phone?”

“In the kitchen,” I tell her. She runs to the kitchen and quickly returns. 

“Smile,” she says. Before she takes the picture, Peyton wraps his arm around my shoulder. I decide to wrap mine around his waist. Meg takes the picture and shows us.

“I like it,” I reply. Meg nods and brings my phone back to the kitchen. Peyton and I follow behind her. We look around the kitchen to see that there isn’t too much of a mess. Meg sets my phone down next to my laptop before walking back to her office. “Let’s finish making the french toast roll ups before we clean up.” He nods as we both wash our hands.

We grab another jar of cream cheese and Nutella, putting them on the pieces of bread before we put strawberries and bananas on them. We then roll them up and stack them. As Peyton finishes rolling them up, I start mixing the eggs and milk together. 

“Is there anything else you need me to do?” he asks.

“Umm, yeah, you can mix the grounded cinnamon and sugar together,” I tell him. He nods and grabs the sugar and a measuring cup. As he does that, I grab the electric stove and plug it in. I then grab the pan and grease it with butter. I then dip a few of the french toast roll ups in the egg and milk mixture and start cooking them.

“Where do you want the cinnamon sugar?” he asks after a few minutes.

“Just right next to the stove,” I tell him. He puts it next to the stove. I grab a plate, putting it next to it. Once the ones that were in the pan were golden brown, I take out the french toast roll ups, coating them in cinnamon sugar before setting them down on a plate. 

“I can start cleaning up if you want me to,” Peyton offers.

“Are you sure?” I ask as I put the next batch in the pan.

“Positive,” he says as he grabs a few paper towels. As he cleans up, I continue to cook the french toast roll ups. After about fifteen minutes, all of the french toast roll ups are made. “That’s a lot of food.”

“Yeah, well there’s a lot of people who work here,” I say as I bring one of the three plates of french toast roll ups to table in the center. He brings the other two plates to the table. “Do you want to eat one?”

“Sure,” he says. I go and grab him as well as myself a plate. I hand him his as we each grab four french toast roll ups. We sit down and eat. “So we never got to actually know each other yesterday.”

“Yeah,” I blush. “Sorry about that. My cousin can be overprotective at times.”

“Nah, I understand. I do the same thing for my friends sometimes,” he admits. “Want to get back to actually getting to know each other?” I nod as I take a bite of my food. “Well, how about we start with full names?”

“Amelia Jones,” I answer. “And your’s?”

“Peyton Meyer,” he says.  _ That name sounds so familiar.  _ “Your turn to ask a question.”

“How many siblings do you have?” I ask.

“Two older brothers. What about you?” he answers.

“I’m an only child, but I consider Mikey my older brother,” I reply. 

“What are your favorite bands?”

“How much time do you have because this is going to be a long list,” I joke. He laughs. “Seriously though, I have a bunch. I guess my top 5 at the moment are Waterparks, Panic! At The Disco, All Time Low, Bring Me The Horizon, and 5 Seconds of Summer.” Before anything else could be said, the door to the AH office opens. I look to see that Ray and Jack are walking out.

“Did you make french toast roll ups?” Jack asks. I nod. He grabs a plate before walking over, taking a seat with us. “Oh, who’s your friend?”

“Oh, right. Peyton, this is Jack. Jack, this is Peyton,” I introduce. They each say hi to each other before Ray joins us, handing me a glass of water. “And this is Ray, my best friend in the whole world.”

“So you’re the famous Peyton she’s been talking about so much,” Ray says. I slap his arm.

“I think it’s adorable that you talk about me,” Peyton teases.

“We’ve been over this. I’m not adorable. I’m sexy as fuck,” I retort. We all laugh as we eat.

“Why are you guys covered in Nutella and cream cheese?” Ray asks. 

“Food war,” Peyton replies.

“Meg and Ashley recorded it,” I tell them. They nod as we finish eating. 

“Well, I’m going to go back into the office,” Jack says. I nod as he walks back to the office. As if on cue, Burnie, Matt, and Gus walk into the kitchen.

“What the hell happened to the two of you?” Gus asks as he, Matt, and Burnie grab their french toast roll ups.

“Food war,” I say. “Ashley and Meg recorded it.”

“Ashley showed it to me earlier,” Burnie says. “You guys might want to clean up before Michael sees this.”

“Sees what?” Mikey asks walking out of the office. He looks over at me and Peyton. “You had a food war didn’t you?” I just nod. “I’ll go grab you a new shirt.”

“What about Peyton?” I question.

“I can just drive home and take a quick shower. Do you want me to give you a ride home?” he asks. I look towards Michael to see if it was okay. He gives me a slight nod before I turn back towards Peyton.

“That would be nice,” I reply. We get up, throwing our plates away. I close my laptop and put it in my messenger bag and grab my keys. All of the guys went back to their offices. “Just give me a minute.” Peyton nods as I walk into the AH office. I throw my messenger back onto the couch.

Before I can leave, Gavin asks, “What the hell happened to you?” This causes all of the guys to look at me.

“Food war,” I simply reply. They all nod before turning back to their games. “See you guys later.” I hear a few “bye’s” being mumbled before I close the door. I grab my phone. “Let’s go.” Peyton nods and grabs my hand. 

We walk by Kara, saying bye to her, before we get to his car. He opens the passenger seat, letting me in. Once I sit down, he closes my door and walks to the driver’s side. Before he starts the car, he asks, “Where do you live?”

I tell him my address and he smiles. “My brother lives in that apartment complex.”

“What about you?” I ask as he pulls out of the parking lot. “Where do you live?”

“I live in California,” he tells me, “but my parents let me come to hang out with my brother for over the summer.”

“Well, I hope you like it here then," I smile. The rest of the ride is silent for a bit. The only noise being made is the faint sound of the radio playing ads. We soon pull up to the apartment complex. “What floor are you on?”

“I’m on the third floor,” he answers. “What about you?”

“Same floor,” I smile. We get out of his car and walk in. We decide to take the stairs since we didn’t want to take the elevator. Right when we stop in front of my door, I turn and ask, “Which apartment is the one you’re staying in?”

“The one right across from your’s,” he says. “Would you maybe want to get ready at mine?” 

“Sure,” I say, “just let me grab some clothes first.” He nods. I open the door, letting him come in while I run to my room. I grab a pair of shorts and my Fall Out Boy tank top. I also grab a bra and panties, hiding them in my clothes. I then walk into the lounge, seeing Peyton looking at pictures. He turns around and notices me.

“Ready?” he asks holding his hand out. I nod, taking his hand. We walk out, me locking the door behind us, as we walk into his apartment. “So my brother isn’t home. You can use my bathroom while I use his.” He leads me to the bathroom. He looks into one of the cabinets, grabbing two towels before closing it. “Here you go. If you need anything, just call out for me.” I nod. He hands me a towel before exiting.

I close the door and lock it. I turn on the shower, stripping myself of my clothes before stepping into the shower. The warm water hits me. I start rinsing myself off. I take a quick ten-minute shower before I step out, turning the shower off. I grab the towel, drying myself off. I quickly put my clothes on before I wrap my hair up in a towel. I look around spotting a bottle of lotion. I put lotion on my legs and arms. I then look around for a hair brush. I luckily find one within a few seconds. I towel dry my hair before brushing it out. I grab my clothes and walk into the lounge to see Peyton in a black tshirt and a pair of shorts. He’s lacing up a pair of converse and has his snapback next to him. I grab his snapback, putting it on as I take a seat next to him.

“You took my snapback,” he comments.

“Yup,” I say. “And you’re not getting it back. I sorta like it.”

“Okay,” he calmly says. “It looks way better on you anyways. It makes you even more adorable.” 

I just stick my tongue out at him. “I’m not adorable,” I say for the third time today.

“Whatever you say AJ,” he teases.  _ Wait, did he call me AJ? _

“AJ?” I say in a questioning tone.

“Yeah,” he says. “That’s my nickname for you other than Pond. Is that okay with you?”

“Yeah,” I smile. “It’s different than what people have called me.” He smiles. 

“Well, then AJ, I think we better go before your cousin gets mad at me.” He gets up, holding out his hand, which I gladly take. We walk out into the hallway.

“Wait here,” I tell him. I grab my key, unlocking the door. I run to my room, throwing my clothes into a corner before running back to the hallway. I lock the door and turn back to Peyton, who is now wearing a snapback. “You went back in for a snapback didn’t you?” He nods. “Do you want your’s back? I mean, I can just go grab one of mine and-”

He cuts me off saying, “No, it’s okay. Plus, it looks way better on you.” I smile as my cheeks start to heat up. He grabs my hand and we walk back to his car.

The ride back to the office was silent, but it was a comfortable silence. He kept my hand in his the whole time. Once we got back to the office, we walk into the AH office, where the Jeremy, Matt, and Ryan were about to film a Things To Do in Minecraft. I look over to see that my desk suddenly had two monitors, an Xbox One, an Xbox 360, and a computer set up.

“When did you guys do this?” I ask.

“When you left. Michael, Ray, and I started getting everything set up,” Ryan explains. “We aren’t done yet but you can use this stuff right now.”

I smile. I run over to Ryan and hug him. “Thank you!” He hugs me back and laughs. “Anyways, where are the other guys?” I ask as we pull away.

“Geoff went to pick up Griffon, Gavin went to annoy Meg, Michael left to go be with Lindsay, Jack went to pick up Caiti, and Ray is in a meeting with Burnie,” Matt replies. “Do you want to be in our Things To Do?”

“Sure,” I reply. 

“Your friend can join too if he wants,” Jeremy says. 

I look towards Peyton. “Do you want to join in?” I ask.

“Sure, why not,” he says. I smile and lead him to Michael's desk. “Do you need me to log using my gamer tag or?”

“You can use Mikey's account,” I say as I log him in.

“You know his password?” Ryan asks.

“I know all of your guys’ passwords,” I reply as I log onto my new Xbox. “Oh, and guys, this is Peyton. Peyton, that’s Ryan, Matt, and Jeremy.” After I introduce Peyton to the guys, Gavin walks in. He looks at Peyton in confusion.

“What’s going on?” he asks. 

“We’re filming a Things To Do, and Peyton is using Mikey’s account,” I explain.

“You know his password?” he asks.

“Yup,” I reply. “Just like I know your’s.”

“You know my password?” he inquires.

“You’ve all told me your passwords at one point or another fucktards,” I say.

“Oh yeah,” they all say as they have that moment of realization. I laugh and wait for the invite. Once I get it, I enter the server.

“Don’t forget, you need to capture your’s and Peyton’s footage,” Ryan reminds me. I nod. I start his capture and sync his audio for him. I then sit down at my desk and do the same.

“Alright so this is Things to do in Minecraft,” Matt starts. “Today with me I have the lovely Amy and her friend Peyton.”

“Hi guys,” I say into the mic.

“Hi,” Peyton says in his.

“I also have Ryan, Gavin, and Jeremy with me. So, today I thought it would be the perfect idea to do another Things To Do with a TNT cannon, but it’s going to be war. So, there is a lava wall in front of you. It will be Amy, Peyton, and I against Ryan, Gavin, and Jeremy,” Matt explains.

“So, we’re pretty much attacking each other with TNT cannons?” I ask.

“That is exactly what we’re doing,” Matt says. “So you each have like a minute to finish building your three TNT cannons and when time is up, you have to start firing. The first team to kill all of your opponents wins.” 

“You guys know how to build a TNT cannon right?” Jeremy asks Gavin and Ryan.

“Yup,” Gavin replies.

“I sorta know,” Ryan says.

“What about you two?” Matt asks.

“You know I know how to,” I say.

“I’ve successfully done it once,” Peyton answers.

He nods. “So we’ll start in 3...2...1...go!” Matt exclaims. We all run over to our chests and grab everything. “Okay, so set one up here and here.” Peyton and I follow Matt’s instructions.

“Why do we have ender pearls?” Jeremy asks.

“You’ll find out,” Matt smirks. I grab a piece of paper and a pen off of Michael's desk. I write Matt a quick note, asking what they were for. I crumple it up and throw it at Matt. He grabs it, uncrumples it, scribbling down something, before throwing it back to me.

It read:  _ Remember that one things to do I did...I think I called it Ender Cannon. We get to do that and sneak up behind them. _ I smile, showing Peyton the note. 

“They’re plotting something,” Ryan says attempting to grab the note. Keyword being attempting since I rip the note into a bunch of small pieces. We finish building our TNT cannons and grab the ender pearls.

“Okay, so before we start killing each other, you can see that you have diamond swords and ender pearls in your chest. You are not allowed to throw the ender pearls on your own, you have to use your TNT cannon,” Matt explains. “3, 2, 1 go!” I grab an ender pearl and a diamond sword. Matt fills up my TNT cannon and tells me I’m good to go. I nod and I fire the cannon, throwing the ender pearl at the perfect time. When the ender pearl lands, I see that I land on the other side way in the back. I sneak up behind Gavin and kill him.

“What the fuck?” he yells. “How the fuck did you do that?”

“Ender cannon,” I smirk as I kill Jeremy.

“Fuck! Ryan, you’re our last hope!” he says. Ryan runs towards me with a diamond sword and we battle. He ends up killing me.

“Fuck!” I scream. “Matt, Peyton, you gotta kill Ryan.” The two both use the ender cannon and gang up on Ryan.

“Fuck!” he yells. 

“We won!” I exclaim. “And that was things to do in Minecraft. Matt, what did you call this?”

“This is called cannon warfare!” he says.

“Let’s stop,” I say stopping my capture. I walk over to Peyton and stop his capture.

“That was fun,” he says standing up.

“Yup, and to think I get to do this sometimes,” I say. Before anything else could be said, I feel two people lift me up and put me on their shoulders. I look to see that it’s Gavin and Ryan. “What are you guys doing?” 

“I don’t know,” Gavin replies. “Ryan just told me to do this.” I nod looking at Ryan. He has a smirk on his face. He pushes Gavin out of the way and throws me over the shoulder.

“The princess has been captured!” He runs out of the office and towards Barbara’s/Gus’s office. He sets me down under Gus’s desk and runs away.

“X-Ray, after him,” I hear Gavin yell. I look out to see Ray and Gavin chase after Ryan. I guess Ray just got done with his meeting with Burnie.

“Hey Amy,” Barbara says kneeling down next to me. “Want to play a prank on Gus?” I nod and smile. “Alright so just hide under there and cover yourself with this blanket. I need you to make a bunch of creepy noises.” I nod. A few minutes later, Gus walks in and takes a seat at his desk. I start making high pitched screeching noises. 

“What the fuck is that?” I hear him ask Barbara.

“I don’t know,” she says acting clueless. To amp it up, I bang on his desk.

“Alright, what the fuck,” he says looking under his desk. He grabs the blanket and I scream, scaring the crap out of him. “What the hell!” 

“Did you film that Barbara?” I ask crawling out.

“Yup,” she replies. I smile. 

“Well, I gotta go back since Peyton is wondering what the fuck is going on,” I say. I head back to the AH office to see that Peyton’s sitting on the couch. “Where did everyone go?”

“Umm, the one who was on our team and the one who was the leader of the other team left to go edit the video,” he tells me. 

“Well, what do you want to do?” I ask taking a seat next to him.

“I still want to get to know you,” he replies. I grab my messenger bag and stand up. “Where are you going?”

“Come on,” I say pulling him up. I grab his hand and lead him outside.

“Where are you going?” Kara asks as we walk past her.

“Just somewhere,” I say. She just nods and goes back to whatever she was doing. I walk past Aaron and Chris. They seem to be doing something for a new season of Social Disorder, but I decide not to ask since I’m probably going to help them with it anyways. I head towards the back of the building, looking around to make sure no one sees us.

“Where are we going?” Peyton asks as I grab a box.

“To the roof of the studio,” I reply as I jump up to the ladder. I start to climb and look back down at Peyton. “Are you coming?” He shrugs and gets on the box, jumping onto the ladder. We both climb to the top. I lead him to a section of the roof where I usually sit. We both take a seat and lean up against the door.

“Why did we take the ladder when there’s a door we could have used?” he asks.

“No one knows where the key is for that door,” I reply. “Plus, it’s more fun taking the ladder.”

“So does anyone else come up here?”

“Nope, this is sorta a special place for me,” I admit. “No one else has ever been up here except for me.”

“Well, in that case, I am honored that you let me up here,” he smiles. I smile back and take a good look at him. He really is cute but looks really familiar. “What are you staring at?"

“You just look really familiar,” I confess.

“I’ve been told that before,” he says. We let out a small laugh before looking straight ahead of us. I rest my head on his shoulder. “What time is it?”

I take out my phone and check the time. “It’s about 10:50,” I say. He nods.

“Can I see your messenger bag really quick?” he asks. I hesitate for a moment. “I’m not going to look through anything. I just want to grab your laptop.” I hand him my bag. He takes my laptop out, turning it towards me so I can log in. When he gets the chance, he immediately goes to Pandora. He leaves it on my Fly Away Hero Station and the first song that plays is Gotta Find You from Camp Rock.

“Oh my gosh,” I smile. “This was my childhood alongside High School Musical.”

He smiles and stands up, holding his hand out. “May I have this dance?” he asks.

“You may,” I say as I take his hand. He helps me up. He puts his hands on around my waist as mine drape over his shoulders. We start swaying along, and I immediately sing along.

__ Every time I think I’m closer to the heart  
__ What it means to know just who I am  
__ I think I finally found a better place to start  
__ No one ever seems to understand  
_ I need to try to get to where you are  
_ __ Could it be you’re not that far

__ You’re the voice I hear inside my head  
__ The reason that I’m singing  
__ I need to find you  
__ I gotta find you  
__ You’re the missing piece I need  
__ The song inside of me  
__ I need to find you  
_ I gotta find you  
_ __ Oh, yeah, yeah

"You know, you have a really good voice," he compliments. I smile and blush as I look down. We continue dancing to the song.  As the song ends, we stare into each other’s eyes. He starts to lean in, and I find myself doing the same.  _ I can’t be here again.  _ I step back and look away. Luckily, my phone starts to ring.

“Hello,” I answer.

“Where are you?” I hear Michael ask.

“Where I usually go when I disappear,” I answer. 

“Will I ever get to know where that is?” he questions.

“Nope,” I say. “What do you need anyways?”

“Geoff wants you and Peyton down here,” he tells me.

“Why does he want Peyton?” I ask.

“Something about the new Things To Do Matt showed him. Now hurry up.” With that, he hangs up. 

“So we gotta go back down,” I say as I pack up my laptop. “Geoff wants to talk with us both.” He nods. I close my messenger bag and climb down the ladder, Peyton following behind me. His fingers intertwine with mine as we walk back to the AH office.

“Hey,” Cole says before I walk into the AH office.

“Hey Cole,” I say giving him a hug.

“I heard you made french toast roll ups,” he mentions.

“Were there any left when you got here?” I ask. He shakes his head no. “Well, when I’m done talking to Geoff, I’ll make some for you.”

“Thanks Amy,” he says. “You okay if I bring some for my niece?”

“Sure,” I answer. Peyton’s hand find its way to mine as we walk into the AH office. I quickly let go the moment I see Mikey.

“There you guys are,” Geoff says. “So I only wanted Peyton here to say that you did a good job. You picked up quickly with our antics.”

“Thank you sir,” he replies.

“No need for that, and call me Geoff,” he says. “As for you Amy, we’re thinking of letting you be an official Achievement Huntress, but we have to get all of the legal stuff done with.”

“You do know that I’m 16, and all you have to do is give me reasonable hours,” I say. “It’s way easier since I know how everything works and it’s not child labor.”

“Yeah, but we’re thinking of having you as an intern until you turn 18. It might be sooner than that, but that’s the plan Burnie has for right now,” he explains. I nod.

“Alright,” I say. “What exactly am I doing?”

“Well, you’ll be doing all of the normal videos like Things to Do and the Let’s Plays as editing videos for both Achievement Hunter and Rooster Teeth,” he tells me.

“Okay, anything else you need me to do right now?”

“Nah, but you still gotta make french toast roll ups so I can bring them home for Griffon,” he says.

“Alright, see ya,” I say. Peyton grabs my hand on the way out. I look back to make sure Mikey doesn’t see. Luckily, he’s too engulfed in his game. We walk to the kitchen to where Gavin and Meg are sitting. “Hey guys.”

“Hey,” Meg says. “Are you going to make more french toast roll ups?” I nod my head as I let go of Peyton’s hand to grab the last loaf of bread. 

“Do you guys wanna help me?” I ask the couple.

“Sure, why not,” they say getting up.


	5. Chapter 5

Peyton talks to Gavin while Meg helps me with rolling out the bread.

“So, you and Peyton,” Meg starts. “He seems nice.”

“He is,” I reply as I start washing the strawberries.

“So what’s going on between the two of you?” she asks.

“Nothing,” I reply. She gives me the look that pretty much calls bullshit. “Seriously, there’s nothing going on.”

“Are you sure?” she questions.

“Positive. I’m not going to let myself fall again,” I mumble the last part. "I've only known him for two days anyways."

She sighs. “You know, not all guys are assholes, and even if they are, you just have to find that one asshole who treats you right.” This causes me to chuckle. “Gavin, Peyton, are you guys going to sit and watch or are you going to help?”

“Am I going to get coated in Nutella again?” Peyton asks.

“You won’t as long as I don’t get covered in cream cheese again,” I smile.

He laughs as he and Gavin get up. While Meg and I cut the bananas and strawberries, Gav and Peyton spread Nutella and cream cheese to each piece of bread. They also put the two fruits in before rolling them up for me.When they finish, I get the egg and milk mixture ready as Peyton makes the cinnamon sugar. I smile as I turn on the electric stove, using butter to grease the pan.

“Thanks for helping me,” I say.

“Well, you’re a really good cook,”  he compliments. I blush as I continue to cook. “So are you free tonight?”

“Well if you count me being here all day as free,” I joke. “I should be, why?”

“I was wondering if you would want to hang out with me and a few of my friends,” he tells me. “We're just gonna hang out at my place and play video games or something. Are you in?”

“I gotta check with my cousin first, but I’ll see what I can do,” I say as I take out the first batch, coating it with cinnamon sugar before putting it on a plate. He smiles and stares at me. “What are you looking at?”

“Just how beautiful you are,” he says. I laugh as I put the next batch in. “I found your channel last night.”

“You mean the Rooster Teeth channel? They make awesome videos and skits and everything-”

“No, I mean your personal channel,” he interjects. “You’re really good at singing and dancing.”

“Thanks,” I blush. “I really haven't posted anything like that in a while though.”

“Well, I'd definitely watch more of your singing and dancing videos,” he tells me. I start the last batch of french toast rollups when Jon walks in.

“Amy, are you doing anything at the moment?” he asks.

“Umm, I’m cooking,” I retort.

“No, I mean for work. Are you going to make any Let’s Plays or anything?” he questions.

“I don’t think so, why?” I ask.

“I need you to be on On The Spot tonight. We need someone to go against Lindsay and Michael,” he says.

“Okay, who’s on my team?”

“Umm, I gotta figure that out,” he tells me.

“Alright,” I say as I put the last batch of french toast roll ups on the plate. “Just let me know before we start.”

“I’ll see you at 4,” he says.

“See ya later,” I call out as he walks back to his office. I grab the plate and bring it to the table.

“Amy!” I hear Ray call out. “You’re doing a stream with me.”

“I gotta go guys,” I say standing up. “I’ll see you when I finish.” I stand up, along with Peyton.

“Is it alright if I sit in?” he asks.

“It should be fine,” I reply as we walk into the office. “Peyton’s sitting in.” Ray nods.

“We’re sitting at your desk,” he tells me. I nod and get everything set up. Peyton takes Gavin’s seat again and scoots closer to me. “Oh, we’re playing Limbo.”

“So I didn’t need to get all of this set up?” I ask.

“You still need audio,” he says. I just shrug it off and set up my audio. I sit closer to Ray as Peyton sits behind us. “Peyton, you can sit behind us.”

“Are you sure?” he asks. “I mean I just wanted to sit in and watch.”

“You still can, you’re just doing commentary,” he explains.

“Alright,” he replies.

“Ray, want to get another mic set up?” I ask.

He sighs. “Fine.” He grabs a mic off of Jack’s desk and gets it set up to record audio. He hands it to Peyton. “Don’t forget to log onto twitch so you can moderate the stream at the same time.” I groan. “Why are you complaining?”

“I have to get up and grab my laptop for it,” I complain.

“Stop being lazy,” he says. I groan but get up, grabbing my laptop and log into Twitch. I keep it on the edge of Mikey’s desk. We all sync up audio and start the stream.

“Hey what’s up guys,” Ray starts. “I’m at the Achievement Hunter office because I’m hanging out with Amy.”

“Hi guys,” I say. I look through the comments asking about Peyton. “Oh, the guy behind us is Peyton. He’s going to sit in with us and answer your questions.”

“Hey guys,” he smiles. I look through the comments and a few people were saying that he’s cute.

“So today we’re going to play Limbo,” Ray explains. “We’re going to try to do it with five lives total and hopefully we’ll finish the game before she goes on On The Spot.”

“Okay,” I smile. “Let’s get started.”

About an hour and a half into the stream, we almost finish the game. Ray is on his turn, and we're down to two lives.

“We’re almost done!” I yell as Ray gets through the last part. He messes up the timing, leaving us with one life left.

“Don’t mess this up Pond,” he says handing me the control.

“Fuck off Williams,” I say.

“I thought I was Williams,” Peyton pouts.

“Shoot, I forgot we ended up making that a thing,” I say as I try to time everything correctly.

“So you have two Williams?” Ray questions.

“Maybe,” I say.

“Amy,” he starts, “someone’s asking how you and Peyton met.”

“Well I was filming a vs at the arcade, and we ended up eating there so while waiting for the food Peyton challenged me to basketball,” I recall as I get past the glass-like wall. “Yes! We beat the game with only five lives!”

An achievement pops up and Ray and I say, “Ba-dink." 

“You’re so adorable,” Peyton comments.

“I am not!” I argue.

“Nah, he’s right,” Ray agrees. “You’re adorable.”

“Anyways,” I say trying to move on from the subject. “While Ray finds someone to Rayd, Peyton and I will answer some questions.” I look through the comments and find one asking me to sing a song. “So LunaLovesYou is asking me to sing a song. Any suggestions?” The chat floods with various songs.

“ElliousLider is suggesting that you sing Drown by Bring Me The Horizon,” Peyton reads.

“She sang that already,” Ray comments. “It’s on her channel which I’m pretty sure one of my mods will link.” I grab the link from YouTube and put it in the chat. I look on twitter and see that Tina’s streaming.

“Did you pick someone to Rayd yet?” I ask.

“Umm, not yet, but CrystalSami is suggesting that you should sing a Barenaked Ladies song,” he reads.

“I’ll sing a snippet of Odds Are,” I say.

 _Struck by lightning, sounds pretty frightening  
_ _But you know the chances are so small  
_ _Stuck by a bee sting, nothing but a B-thing  
_ _Better chance you’re gonna buy it at the mall_

 _But it’s a twenty-three four-to-one  
__That you can fall in love by the end of this song  
__So get up, get up  
__Tell the bookie "put a bet up"  
__Not a damn thing will go wrong_  

 _The odds are that we will probably be alright  
__Odds are we're gonna be alright, odds are we're gonna be alright tonight  
__The odds are that we will probably be alright  
__Odds are we're gonna be alright, odds are we're gonna be alright for another night_  

As I finish singing, I look over to Ray who is smiling. “The amazing Amelia Jones everyone,” he says putting his arm around my shoulder.

“Oh shut up,” I say playfully shoving Ray.

“You really are amazing though,” Peyton adds in.

“Well, the person I’m going to Rayd is Tina because she’s streaming right now,” Ray says. “Anyways, I’ll see you guys either tomorrow or the day after that for my next stream. Bye guys!”

“Bye,” Peyton and I say. Ray ends the stream and turns to me.

“So I’m being replaced,” Ray says faking a hurt tone. “I’ve been replaced as Williams.”

“Nah, you’re always gonna be my Williams, just like I’m always your Pond,” I smile. This causes Ray to smile.

“So you’re going on On The Spot later, right?” he asks. I nod. “Can I be your teammate?”

“Sure,” I reply as I put the mics back. “Are you gonna stay and watch, Peyton?”

“Uhh, sure,” he answers. “Are you sure it’s okay?”

“Of course it is,” I smile.

“Then I guess I will,” he grins. His phone starts ringing. “Sorry, I have to take this.” I nod as he walks out of the room.

“So, he seems nice,” Ray says resting his head on my shoulder. “You know I’m still going to interrogate him though.” I turn around and playfully slap his arm. “Hey, it’s better that it’s me and not Michael.”

“True,” I agree, “but Michael wants to meet him and like have him over for dinner or something like that. Can you please be there to make sure he doesn’t go overboard? Please?”

“Fine,” he laughs, “but you owe me one.”

“Thank you,” I say giving him a hug. He hugs back but soon starts poking my side, causing me to squeal. I back up, seeing his smirk. “Don’t do it, Narvaez.”

“Don’t do what?” he asks pretending to be all innocent.

“Don’t you dare tickle me,” I say backing up. Unluckily for me, I back up against a wall.

“Too bad,” he smirks before chasing me. I make a run for it, but he catches me and starts tickling me by poking my sides. I jump and at one point, I fall onto Ray, causing both of us to fall. I somehow manage to be on the bottom while Ray lands on top of me. Luckily, he catches himself before he completely crashes on top of me. We both laugh despite the fact we’re inches away from each other’s faces.

“Hi,” I whisper.

“Hey,” he murmurs. Before anything else could be said, someone clears their throat. We look over at the door to see Michael and Peyton standing there. Ray gets off of me, standing up before helping me up.

“Ray kept poking your sides, didn’t he?” Michael asks already knowing the answer. I nod, and he just shakes his head and laughs. “Well, I found out that you guys are the team Lindsay and I are going against.”

“Yup, we’re going to kick your asses,” I smirk.

“Wanna bet on it Bitch Cousin?” he taunts.

“Loser has to run around the lot in only their underwear,” I reply.

“Or in your case in your bra and panties,” he adds. “It’s a bet.” We both put out our hands and shake them. He walks away leaving me with Ray and Peyton.

“So am I involved in the bet?” Ray asks me.

“Nah, it’s a me and Mikey thing,” I respond. “About how much time til we have to go on?”

“In about an hour or so,” he tells me.

“Alright,” I say. “Did you eat lunch yet?”

“Nah, I was in that meeting with Burnie and ate the french toast roll ups like an hour ago,” he says.

“Go and eat lunch. I’ll upload the stream we just did,” I say as I take a seat at my desk.

“Are you sure you want to?” he asks.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” I laugh. “Now go eat, I have Peyton to keep me company.” He nods and leaves the room. I motion Peyton to take Mikey’s seat.

“So, you and Ray, are you guys a thing?” he asks.

“Oh, fuck no,” I gag. “He’s like 9 years older than me and has a girlfriend.”

“Oh,” he sighs in relief. “So, you know how to get the video from the stream?”

“Yeah,” I reply as I load up all of the footage. “I’ve been doing it since he first started streaming.”

“How did you learn how to do it?”

“Ray taught me.” He nods and continues to watch me as I start exporting the video. “You know you can walk around.”

“I know,” he answers, “but I want to be here with you.”

“Okay,” I blush. “This might take a while though.”

“Well we can get back to getting to know each other,” he suggests.

“Okay,” I say. “You start.”

“Umm, what’s something that no one knows about you?”

“Well, I'm a bit of an open book with a lot of the people here, so there's nothing really that no one knows about me," I tell him. 

"I call BS," he says. "There has to be something."

"I mean, I want to get my own book published someday," I mention. "But that's pretty much the only thing I can think of."

"Well, if it means anything, you already know at least one person will buy your novel," he smiles.

"Anyways, what’s something that no one knows about you?”

He thinks for a moment before replying, “I’m an open book so there’s nothing I’m hiding.”

“I call bullshit,” I say. He gives me a look of confusion. “There must be something that you haven’t told anyone. I mean, you made me think of something."

“Alright, you caught me,” he jokes. I let out a small laugh and smile. “Seriously though, there’s nothing I’m hiding.”

“Okay,” I smirk. “I’ll believe you, for now.” He laughs. I look back over to my computer to see that the stream was fully exported to the flashdrive. I take it out of the USB port and set it on my desk. “Well I’m really tired so I’m going to go take a nap.” I stand up and get on the couch. I lay down and close my eyes. I soon feel someone’s hand grab mine. I open my eyes and look over to see Peyton. “Do you need anything?” 

“Yeah,” he says. “Is it fine if I lie down with you?”

“There’s not enough room on the couch though,” I pout.

“Well you could lie on the floor with me?” he asks. I shrug and get up. I grab a few pillows off of the couch and put them on the floor. I end up laying down next to Peyton and close my eyes again. “Are you really that tired?”

“Yes,” I say. “Now let me go to sleep.” I hear him chuckle before he lays down right next to me. I feel his hand right next to mine, and I subconsciously intertwine my fingers with his as I start to drift to sleep.

After an hour, I feel someone carrying me. I open my eyes to see that it’s Ryan.

“What are you doing?” I mumble closing my eyes again.

“You and Peyton fell asleep so I told Peyton to take the couch while I took you to the podcast set,” he explains as he sets me down on the couch.

“Why would you do that?” I question.

“Because Ray wanted to interrogate Peyton,” he says. I just nod. _Well, it’s better than Michael._ “You’re lucky that Ray and I walked in there before Michael saw anything.” I let out a yawn as I nod. “Go back to sleep, you have about another 45 minutes until you have to go to On The Spot.”

I let myself drift asleep a second time only to be woken up in someone’s arms. I look up to see Jon carrying me.

“Why are you carrying me?” I ask.

“Ryan told me where to find you,” he answers. “On The Spot starts in about ten minutes and we need to go over a few things.” I nod and cuddle up into his chest, trying to get a few more minutes of sleep. “Why are you so tired?” I shrug. He lets out a noise that was in between a sigh and a chuckle. He soon sets me down in a chair.

“You alright?” Mikey asks looking concerned.

“Yeah,” I reply. “Just really tired.” He nods as I start fixing my hair.

“Do you want a hair brush?” Lindsay asks me.

“No, I should be fine,” I say as I part my hair slightly to the left. Ray then walks in with a can of Red Bull and a mango Arizona. He hands me the Arizona as he takes his seat. “Thank you.”

“No problem,” he says as he fixes my hair. I smile at him before I look back at Jon.

“Alright, so we’re playing cunning linguistics, impromptu pitch, and sync about it,” he explains. “We don’t need to run through anything, right?” We all nod. “Okay good.” As the four adults get into their own conversation, my eyes wander over to the studio where Ryan is walking in with Peyton behind him. I smile at him and wave, which he returns.

“Amy,” Ray says pulling me back into reality. I look towards him. “We’re about to go on.” I nod and put a smile on my face.

“My first team is a couple destined to find each other while on a crime spree. He was muscle who had a charming smile while she was a redheaded damsel who’s able to use a gun. Bonnie and Clyde got nothing on them, it’s Michael and Lindsay. My second team have been best friends for years but decided to have nicknames that are characters who are romantically involved even though they aren’t. She goes with being the redhead who takes control while he just follows everything she says. They are the nonromantic versions of Pond and Williams, it’s Amy and Ray. And I’m your host, Jon Risinger and welcome to On The Spot,” Jon introduces. The intro card plays while Ray and I laugh at our intro. “Hi.” 

“Hey,” we all say.

“Amy, it’s your first time on On The Spot,” he says.

“Yeah, hard to be on a show when I’m half way across the country,” I retort. Ray let’s out a chuckle.

“Well, welcome to On The Spot.” I smile. “So before we begin, I heard that Amy and Michael made a bet,” he addresses.

“That is correct Jon,” I say.

“Would you like to let the internet know about the bet?” he asks.

“You wanna tell them, Michael?” I ask.

“Nah, you can tell them,” he says.

I nod before saying, “So pretty much, Michael came into the office saying he’s going to kick mine and Ray’s asses in this game, and I said ‘wanna bet.’ He proposed that the loser had to run around the building in only their underwear.”

“So is it between the teams or just you and Michael?” Jon asks.

“Just me and Michael,” I reply.

He nods before turning back to the camera. “So we have a few orders of business to get to before the game. So first off team names,” he says. He then turns to Michael and Lindsay. “So are you guys still Team Internet?”

“Yeah,” the two nod. He then turns to us.

“So, you’re guys need a team name,” he says.

Ray and I look towards each other. “I guess it’s going to be a Doctor Who thing?” Ray asks me.

“Of course it is Williams,” I smirk.

“So we’re going to be Team Exterminate,” Ray says.

“Team Exterminate,” Jon repeats. “Alright. Well, second of all, we will be playing impromptu pitch, so we need you guys to tweet us a person, place, and genre with the hashtag On The Spot.”

“If someone suggests Brendon Urie, Amy Jones’ bed, and romance I would love you forever,” I wink to the camera.

“Only she would ask for that,” Ray smirks. I just shrug and smile while the other three just laugh.

“Okay so the first game we’re playing is Cunning Linguistics.” The transition card shows before Jon continues speaking. “This is when we get words from Urban Dictionary and give them to our teams to guess the definition,” he explains. “What’s our first word?” The word shows up on the screen. “What is umop apisdn, Team Exterminate?”

“I have no fucking clue,” Ray says. “You have anything?”

“Uhhhh,” I start as I turn my head to the side, “it looks like the words upside down but they’re upside down.”

“Ray, do you have a guess?” Jon asks.

“I still have no fucking clue,” he replies.

“Team Internet, have any guesses?” he asks turning to Michael and Lindsay.

“No fucking clue for this one,” Lindsay says.

“Yeah, there’s no way there’s an actual definition to this one,” Michael chimes in.

“Well, then it’s a good thing that Amy got it right,” Jon says as the screen shows the definition. “So points to Team Exterminate.”

“Are you fucking serious?” I ask with a surprised tone. “I just turned my head to the side and saw it.”

“Well, next word for Team Internet is…” He pauses as he waits for the word to appear on the screen. “Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia.” He struggles with pronouncing it so I correct him. “How the fuck do you know how to say that?”

“Wizards of Waverly Place,” I reply.

“Anyways, Michael, have a guess?”

Mikey thinks for a moment before replying with, “See you gotta break it down Jon. It’s like Latin. You know what I mean. See what it actually is it’s hippop is a combination of hippo plus pop.” I start giggling but quickly stop while he continues to give his definition. I look over at Peyton who seems to be holding in his laughter as well. “So you got hippopotomonstrosesquip. So it’s like the equipment a hippo wears after it becomes a pop star.”

“Okay,” Jon says.

“That’s like a whole new thing. It’s going to kick off. 2020, that’s when you’re going to see hippo pop stars all over the place,” he continues. At this point, I laugh again but try to stifle it before anyone notices. “And it’s like fuck did you see all of their equipment? It’s kinda like when you pimp out your ride. You know it’s like when you equip your hippo. That hippo is equipped, and this is just people who are afraid of that.” At this point, I burst out laughing, and so does Peyton. Ray and Jon look over at me while Mikey smirks and continues his definition. “It’s like I’m not into it. I don’t like it. It’s different. You know and they’re like maybe a hippo shouldn’t be running around with a katana.” My laughs get louder, and Ray joins in with my laughter. “But that’s just what they do and some people just aren’t a fan of it.”

“I think we broke Team Exterminate,” Jon comments as he sees my face getting all red from laughter.

“Not yet,” Ray says as he pokes my side. This causes me to jump a bit and fall off my chair while my laughter continues. “Well we broke Amy.” I look over to see Peyton standing up to run to my side, but Ryan stops him. Jon seems to notice and smirks.

“Looks like Amy’s friend wants to help fix her. I think we should bring him out here, don’t you Ray?” he asks smirking.

“Yeah, come here Peyton,” Ray smirks at me. I look over to him giving him a death glare while trying to catch my breath. I look over to see Peyton walk over helping me up.

“You okay?” he whispers into my ear.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I say. “You might want to go before Mikey kills you though.”

He nods and heads back to his seat next to Ryan.

“Now that that’s over with, Lindsay, do you have a guess?” Jon asks trying to move on.

“Alright,” she starts, “whatever the fuck this word is because I can’t pronounce it.”

“Well you can at least try,” Michael says.

“Amy, wanna say it for me?” she asks.

I sit up straight and clear my throat before saying, “Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia.”

“Yeah, that,” Lindsay says. “I’m with you on the pop artist but you forgot an integral part. There’s not actually a hippo involved at all. So it’s hip hop artists plus the pop artists combined together. Now, whenever hip hop artists throw down they usually have a monster slam of a lyric and you’re like oh shit that was amazing. Like they threw down that lyric like nobody’s business. So they’re coming into the rap battle like a badass, or a hip hop battle in this case, but they made a quip that someone found very offensive. So they kinda like Pitbull you and someone else retorts with that and you’re like dale` and that’s where the dali comes from. But because that threat has been initiated, the person who initiated the first battle part, they’re scared.”

“Alright, so since neither of you got it right, I’m going to turn it over to Team Exterminate,” Jon says turning towards us.

“You wanna go?” Ray asks me.

“Sure,” I reply. “So hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is actually just an ironic word because it means a fear of long words.”

“So Amy pretty much got it right,” Jon says as the definition pops up onto the screen.

“How the fuck did you know that one?” they all ask.

“Wizards of Waverly Place,” I reply.

“Next word for Team Exterminate is masternap,” he says.

“I got this one,” Ray states. “Masternap is when you’re masterbating then end up falling asleep when you finish.”

“I actually think he got that one right,” I comment.

“He actually did.” Ray and I high five each other. “Last word for the round is tip of my thumb,” Jon says. “Michael, want to start us off?”

“Well to put it simply,” Michael starts, “it’s the tip of your dick. It’s slang. I slipped the tip of my thumb in, just the tip of my thumb right into his mouth while he was sleeping and it’s funny. That’s what frat dudes do.”

“Alright,” he laughs. “So Lindsay, got an idea?”

“Uhh, yeah,” she says. “Tip of your thumb is like the tip of your tongue, but in the texting sense or using your phone. So you’re like wait, I knew where I was gonna go, it was on the tip of my thumb. Uhhhh, and you’re just there sitting on your phone and you don’t know what to search.”

“Well incase that isn’t the correct answer, Team Exterminate, any guesses?” Jon asks.

“I think Lindsay fucking got it right,” Ray says.

“Well do you have any guesses?” he repeats.

“I think I might have something,” I say. “Tip of your thumb is is like when you want to give someone your middle finger but they aren’t worthy of it, but they also don’t deserve variations of it. So it’s like I hate you, fuck off, you only deserve the tip of my thumb.”

“Good guess, let’s find out what the real definition is,” he says. “When you are just about to send a text message then you think better of it and stop.”

“I think Lindsay got it mostly right,” I mention.

“Yeah, points to Team Internet.”

“Yes!” the two cheer.

“Well let’s look at the points.” The points show up and it shows that we are winning by 20 points. “Well onto our next game which is impromptu pitch,” Jon says transitioning. “The way this game goes is that you guys are pitching the next big film ideas to me, the big studio exec, and the person who gives the best gets my money/points. And the way you guys are going to come up with ideas for your film pitch is that we asked twitter to send us person, places, and genres for your film and you guys are going to incorporate those into your pitch and give them to me. You have 60 seconds on the clock. You will only give the pitch one person at a time and back and forth and I will decide when you switch between teammates. That make sense to everybody?” Everybody nods their heads. “Alright, Team Exterminate, let’s find your what your prompt is.” Our prompt pops onto the screen. “Brendon Urie, Rooster Teeth Office, and a Romance. That comes from @RyantheTwit.” I laugh and look over at them. Ryan gets up and walks over to my mic.

“Okay, so first off she did ask for it, and second of all, it was Peyton who used my twitter for it,” Ryan says to defend himself. I look over to Peyton who just smiles and shrugs.

“You got the place wrong though,” I retort. He just laughs as Ryan goes back into the studio.

“Alright, so Brendon Urie, Rooster Teeth Office, and romance. Amy we’ll start with you,” Jon says. “60 seconds on the clock, and go.”

“Alright, so Brendon Urie comes to the Rooster Teeth Office because he’s filming a music video,” I start.

“Ray,” Jon interjects.

“So Brendon accidentally walks into the Achievement Hunter Office only to see Amy Jones yelling at a video game,” Ray continues.

“Amy,” Jon calls out.

“So Amy hears laughing behind her and turns around to see the frontman of her favorite band behind her. She blushes and-”

“Ray!”

“And he walks over to her and takes her hand, asking her to come with her into his police box.”

“Amy!”

“Alright, so Brendon brings Amy into his Tardis because it’s a blue police box and he says that she must be his companion.”

“Ray!”

“And Amy happily goes along, but she’s sad because she has to leave her version of Rory Williams behind. Brendon notices and takes Amy’s hand, giving her a kiss on the-”

“Amy!”

“Lips, making her forget her Rory Williams because he is Brendon Urie.” The buzzer goes off making me and Ray laugh.

“Did you really had to make Doctor Who references?” Michael asks laughing.

“I blame Ray for starting it,” I say.

“Anyways, does this Doctor Who parody have a title?” Jon asks.

“Umm, Doctor What: Brendon Urie Edition,” I say.

Everyone laughs. “Alright, let’s find out what Team Internet’s prompt is.” Their prompt pops up on the screen. “Michael Keaton, McDonald's, suspense by...why would you even make that your user name?” Jon remarks.

“It’s P4U1_1999,” Lindsay says.

“P4U1_1999,” he repeats.

“Well that what he wants it to be,” Michael says.

“Well it’s not,” Jon says.

“He’s fluent in leet, what’s wrong with that,” Lindsay says.

“Anyways, Michael Keaton, McDonalds, suspense. 60 seconds on the clock starting with Lindsay.”

“Don’t fuck this up,” Mikey says right before Jon says go.

“It’s early in the morning. A man waits for cars to pull up and proceed with their order and-”

“Michael.”

“It’s Michael Keaton working at a McDonald's undercover because he wants to see what it’s like to work as a fast food worker for just one day.”

“Lindsay.”

“All the grease is kinda a turn on to him but that’s not the point. He’s trying to make sure that he’s not distracted by his job by getting the information from the man that’s about to pull up at the window for he is-”

“Michael.”

“The manager at the bank who knows the code to get into the vault which Michael Keaton has to rob because-”

“Lindsay.”

“He no longer can get parts in movies because Tim Burton no longer wants to cast him. So-”

“Michael.”

“He pretended to be in Birdman just so he can get exposure again that way he can put himself back on the map. That way no one would suspect that he actually was a bank robber-”

“Lindsay.”

“And while he’s bank robbing, he’s actually doing a dual layer thing where he’s actually promoting himself as an actor but at the same time in the movie, he’s gonna flip it so that the bank manager is gonna end up-”

“Michael.”

“Being himself.” The timer goes off, causing Ray and I to laugh.

“I like it,” Jon says. “What’s the title of it?”

“You McFucked Up,” Lindsay says. We all laugh.

“Hmm, I’m not sure who to give the points to this round,” he says. “I think I’m gonna have to go with Team Internet for this one, but five bonus points to Team Exterminate.” Ray and I cheer. “Let’s look at the scores.” The score is 35 to 60, and we’re losing. “Team Internet is in the lead with 60 points, and Team Exterminate has 35 points meaning you guys get to do the redemption challenge.”

“Please tell me I won’t throw up from this?” I ask.

“Well, you actually got really lucky because I was thinking that for this challenge you would’ve had to eat a thing of sardines, but because you’re allergic, you don’t have to do it,” Jon says. I sigh. “However, Ray has to bench press Amy. I’ll give you five points for each time you lift her up.”

“You better not drop me Ray, or else I will kill you,” I say to him as we all move our chairs.

“Well, you’re really light so this is going to be easy,” Ray says. He lays down on the ground. I wait for Jon’s cue.

“You guys ready?” he asks. We nod. “Okay, go.” I lean back onto Ray’s hands as he lifts me up.

“I’m so glad you weigh like 80 pounds,” he says. I laugh.

“Remember, we only need five to tie,” I comment.

He gets up to five before asking, “If I do any more, will I be able to get those points?”

“I’ll give you one more point for each because you already tied, but I want to see how many you can do,” he says. He nods before doing five more bench presses before setting me down on his stomach. “Alright, so the scores are now Team Exterminate with 65 points and Team Internet with 60 points.”

“I’m so glad I have Amy on my team now,” Ray says. “Because if I had anyone else on my team, I wouldn’t have done that many bench presses. I mean, she weighs like 80 pounds.”

I just laugh and smile.

“Anyways, onto our last game, which is Sync About It,” Jon says. The transition card plays before he explains the game. “This is when we ask each team to answer a question, and you guys are going to answer the question one word at a time between each other. Anytime during your answer, I can ring my little bell, and the other team gets the opportunity to interject a word into your answer and you guys have to continue along with it. Alright?”

“Yeah,” we all say.

“Okay so our first question is for Team Internet,” he says. The screen then shows the question as Jon reads it. “How to make the best sandwich ever. Let’s start with Michael. Sixty seconds on the clock, and go.” 

 **Michael:** Take

 **Lindsay:** A

 **Michael:** Slice

 **Lindsay:** Of

 **Michael:** Bread

_*Bell Rings- Amy isn’t paying attention until Ray pokes her side*_

**Amy:** Soggy

 **Lindsay:** Because

 **Michael:** You

 **Lindsay:** Will

 **Michael:** Need

 **Lindsay:** To

 **Michael:** Take

 **Lindsay:** Another

 **Michael:** Slice

 **Lindsay:** Of

 **Michael:** Bread

 **Lindsay:** And

_*Bell Rings*_

**Ray:** Cum

 **Lindsay:** Place

 **Michael:** And

 **Lindsay:** Bread

 **Michael:** What? Assemble.

 **Lindsay:** Gather

 **Michael:** Cheese

 **Lindsay:** Plus

 **Michael:** Meat

 **Lindsay:** Lettuce

 **Michael:** And

_*Bell rings and Amy is still not paying attention, causing Ray to poke her.*_

**Amy:** Fuck

 **Lindsay:** The

 **Michael:** Cheese

 **Lindsay:** To

 **Michael:** The

 **Lindsay:** Bread

 **Michael:** And

 **Lindsay:** Lettuce

**_*Timer goes off*_ **

“Amy, you were distracted that whole round,” Jon comments.

“I think I know why,” Ray says. “She was fucking staring at Peyton the whole time.”

“To be fair, both him and Ryan were making funny faces at me,” I say defending myself. 

“Anyways,” he says, "Let's read that back." After he reads it back, he turns towards us. "So, signallingthe bar isn't that far above the ground. Don't trip on it."

"Jon, you know I'm a clumsy fuck," I joke. 

“Anyways, Team Exterminate, your question is, how to make sure you’re Brendon Urie’s companion. This episode is just filled with Doctor Who references now,” he says.

“Yay,” I cheer.

“Anyways, 60 seconds on the clock starting with Ray. And Go.”

 **Ray:** First

 **Amy:** You

 **Ray:** Sing

 **Amy:** About

_*Bell Rings*_

**Michael:** Fuckin

 **Ray:** Then

 **Amy:** Brendon

 **Ray:** Urie

 **Amy:** Will

 **Ray:** Come

 **Amy:** In

 **Ray:** His

 **Amy:** Tardis

 **Ray:** And

 **Amy:** Take

 **Ray:** Your

_*Bell Rings*_

**Lindsay:** Hair

 **Amy:** To

 **Ray:** Ensure

 **Amy:** That

 **Ray:** You’re

 **Amy:** A

_*Bell rings*_

**Michael:** Slut

 **Ray:** So

 **Amy:** That

 **Ray:** He

 **Amy:** Can

 **Ray:** Take

 **Amy:** Your

 **Ray:** Hand

 **Amy:** And

 **Ray:** Take

 **Amy:** You

 **Ray:** On

 **Amy:** An

 **Ray:** Adventure

 **Amy:** To

 **Ray:** His

_*Bell rings*_

**Lindsay:** Penis

**_*Timer Goes off*_ **

"Should I be surprised how well that you guys actually pulled that off?" Jon asks.

"Nah, I don't think so," I say. "I mean, Ray and I are so in sync."

"Anyways, the booth is telling me they're ready." After Jon reads back our answer, he comments, “I don’t know why, but I really like how they answered their question. So points to Team Exterminate on that one." Ray and I high five each other. “Let’s find out what the final scores are.” I smile as the scores show that Ray and I won!

“Fuck you!” I say to Michael as he hands us the Golden Gus. “We won!”

“Now if you guys want to see me run around the building in my underwear, we’ll have it uploaded on Amy’s channel,” Michael says.

“Well that was On The Spot, I will see you guys next week. Bye,” Jon signs off. As the credits roll, Peyton walks up to me.

“You know we’re still live,” I tell him.

“Really?” he asks. I nod. “Well then.”

“What?” I ask.

“You did a great job,” he tells me, giving me a hug. I smile and blush, looking down so he doesn’t notice.

“Credits are done,” Jon says.

My smile turns into a smirk. “Mikey,” I start, “time for the bet!” He sighs before letting out a laugh. “Come on!”

“I’ll film it!” Lindsay says. I nod and we all walk to the front of the office. Lindsay takes out her phone and starts filming.

“So right now, we’re heading to the front of the office where Michael has to complete his punishment for losing On The Spot,” I explain to the camera. We get out with all of Achievement Hunter following us with Caleb and Kdin filming. Michael strips down to his boxers and looks at Kdin’s camera.

“This is what I get for making bets with Amy,” he says.

“Get to running Asshole Cousin,” I say to him.

“Alright, don’t need to be pushy Bitch Cousin,” he says as he starts running. Kdin and Caleb follow him.

“I can’t believe you got him to do that,” Peyton says.

“I get him to do shit like this all of the time,” I reply. “There was one time I dared him to sneak into my neighbor’s house and jump into their pool in a bikini.”

“Where did he get the bikini?” he questions.

“From me,” I laugh. “Let’s just say I’m glad it was something that was too big on me or else I would have seen something I shouldn’t have seen on my cousin.” He laughs.

His phone beeps signaling that he has a text. He takes out his phone, quickly texting a reply before looking at me. “Sorry, my brother says I have to go back home now,” he tells me. I nod.

“I’ll walk with you to your car,” I say. He slightly smiles and takes my hand. We walk over to the driver’s side of his car. “I had a really fun day today.”

“Me too,” he smiles. “So, you still up for tonight?”

“I’ll see if I can sneak out,” I laugh. “I should be able to come though.”

“Well just swing by the apartment when you can, and maybe you could show me some more videos you've made with your cousin,” he adds.

“We'll see,” I reply. I give him a hug. “See ya later.”

“Bye, AJ,” he says before getting into his car.

I start walking back to the group. I take a few steps before looking back. I watch his car drive off, and when it’s out of sight, I hurry back to the group. As I approach the group, I hear Gavin motivating Mikey as they come towards the front of the office.

“Alright, I ran around the building,” Michael says panting.

“Nah, you have to do one more lap,” I smirk. He looks at me before throwing me over his shoulder. He runs to the car and throws me into the back seat. "Well, we're going to head back home now, so I'll just grab your things." I nod as he jogs back to the office. A few minutes later, he, Lindsay, and Ray get into the car, and we being the car ride home. 

 


	6. Chapter 6

We soon pull into the parking lot. Once Lindsay parks the car, I bolt out of the car and run upstairs. I get into the apartment and throw my bag onto the couch.

"Woah, what's the rush?" Michael asks.

"Umm, I was sorta hoping I could hang out with Peyton and his friends," I tell him. "Is that okay?"

He lets out a sigh. "I don't feel comfortable with you going somewhere with strangers on your own," he replies. "Plus, Lindsay and I won't be able to drop you off since we're going to hang out with Geoff and Griffon."

"You don't actually have to drop me off," I mention. "He's staying with his brother right now, and his apartment is in this complex."

"I don't know," he sighs.

"Michael, just let her," Lindsay chimes in. "I mean, she needs to make friends, so why not."

"Fine, you can go hang out with them," he sighs in defeat. I smile. "On one condition: you text me updates every hour."

"Fine," I groan. 

"Anyways, Lindsay and I are heading out now." They both give me a hug. "Please be home at a reasonable time."

"Will do." They leave and I immediately take out my phone to text Peyton.

_**To: Peyton**    
What time do you want me to head over? ~Amelia Pond_

**_From: Peyton_ ** _  
Whenever you can. ~Rory Williams_

I smile and head to my room. I change out of my Fall Out Boy tank top and slip on my music clef heart tank top. I grab his snapback from his bag and put it on. I put a few hair ties on my wrist before I grab my phone and keys. I lock the door to the apartment before walking across the hall. I knock on the door for Peyton to open it.

"Hey AJ!" Peyton exclaims.

"Hey Peyton," I smile as I give him a hug. "Here's your snapback back by the way." I take it off to hand it to him, but he puts his hand up.

"It's fine. You can keep it," he tells me. "It looks so much cuter on you." I blush and put it back on.

"So, where is everyone?" I ask as I walk in.

"They're on their way," he tells me. "I didn't think you'd be here this soon. I mean, I thought you'd still be at the office."

"Well, people usually get off at 5 there, unless it's animation crunch time," I tell him. An awkward silence blankets us. "Anyways, what do you want to do?"

"Well, I was about to head to the store to grab some snacks." I nod. "You want to come with me?"

"Sure." He grabs his keys, and I follow him out. We head to his car, and I jump into the passenger seat.

"So, what's your favorite thing about Austin?" he asks me.

"I don't know," I answer. "I'm usually only here because of Michael and RT. I mean, RTX is pretty fun."

"What's RTX?" 

"It's an internet and gaming convention held by Rooster Teeth," I explain. He nods. "So, what's this late dinner you were talking about?"

"Well, my friends and I were just going to hang out and maybe order a pizza or something," he tells me. "Why?"

"How about I cook something," I offer. "Plus, I've had pizza the past few days because it was easy to do, and I'm a bit sick of it."

"That should be fine," he says. "They aren't going to be at my place for another half an hour or so." I smile as he pulls into the parking lot. "What did you have in mind?" 

"I was thinking chicken marsala," I tell him. 

"That sounds delicious." We get out of his car and start walking towards the store. "I'll just text my friends to see if they're fine with it." I nod as he takes out his phone. I grab a cart and push it as he taps away on his phone. A few moments later, he turns to me and says, "They're fine with it and are excited to meet you." I smile. "Also, how about you jump on and I'll push the cart."

"I don't want to tip over the cart though."

"Trust me, you won't." I shrug and jump onto the back of it as he pushes the cart. I lean against Peyton for support. "So, where to first?"

"Well, we need to grab the chicken first," I say. He nods and pushes us to the poultry section. I grab a few packages of thinly sliced chicken and put them in the cart. 

For the next fifteen minutes, we run around the store grabbing different ingredients and snacks. Soon enough, we head to self-checkout. 

"Fuck," I mumble. "I forgot my wallet."

"Don't worry about it," Peyton tells me. "I was going to pay for everything anyways."

"I'll pay you back when we get to the apartment complex," I say.

"Don't worry about it." He takes out his wallet and pays. We grab all of our bags and put them in the cart. I get back on and he pushes me outside. We load everything into his car. We then get into his car and head to the apartment complex. "So, I'm excited for you to meet my friends."

"And why's that?" I question.

"We just need more people in our group, and it's nice to have an Austin local show us around," he answers. "Well, maybe you're not fully an Austin local, but you're close enough."

"Well, if you end up going to I smile as  _Shut Up And Dance_ by Walk The Moon comes on the radio. I raise the volume a little bit.

"I love this song!" I start singing along. 

 _Oh don't you dare look back_  
_Just keep your eyes on me_  
_I said "You're holding back"_  
_She said "Shut up and dance with me"_  
_This woman is my destiny_  
_She said ooh-ooh-hoo  
_ _Shut up and dance with me_

I laugh and dancing in my seat. Peyton chuckles and starts singing along with me. We soon pull up in the parking lot at the song ends. "You really do have a nice voice," he compliments. I blush as we get out of the car to grab the bags.

"Yo Peyton!" We turn around to see a brunette boy around Peyton's height.

"Hey Uriah." They do this whole bro hug thing before turning to me. "This is Amy," he introduces. "She's the one who offered to make us dinner."

"Well, it's nice to meet you," he says holding his hand out. I shake his hand. "So, you need help bringing all of this up?"

"That would be great," Peyton replies. He opens the trunk and the three of us grab all of the bags. We walk up the three flights of stairs and make our way to the end of the hallway. Peyton sets his bags down to unlock the door before picking them back up and carries them back in. "So, I'm not sure exactly where everything is, but-"

"It's fine," I interrupt. "I could just head back to mine and cook everything there."

"Are you sure?" he questions.

"I'm sure," I tell him. "Plus, there are a few ingredients that I need from my place." 

"Well, is there anything I could do to help?" he offers.

"You could start on making the pasta if you want." He nods and starts rummaging for a pot. I grab the chicken and the marsala cooking wine and walk across the hall.

"So you live right across the hall," Uriah asks. I nod. "Well, you could leave your door unlocked so Peyton and I could come over to make sure everything's going alright."

"Okay." I unlock the door and put everything on the counter. I grab the cutting board and take the onions out of the fridge. I hear knocking at the door. "It's open!" The door opens, and I see Ray and Tina standing there. 

"Oh good, you're still here," Tina says. "We were going to see if you wanted to come to dinner with us."

"Well, I'm sorta in the middle of cooking right now, and I'm going to head to Peyton's soon," I mention.

"Ah yes, arcade boy," Ray teases. "Want any help with the chicken?"

"If that's alright with you guys," I say. "I don't want to ruin your dinner."

"It's fine," Tina says as she grabs the pan. "It looks like you're about to make food for an army though."

"Well, I offered to make food for him and his friends," I tell her. "Plus, I was tired of eating pizza and was in need of a homemade meal."

"Fair enough," she says.  I grab the saucepan and put the butter in. I set it on the stove and turn it on. As the butter melts, I push in all of the vegetables I cut up. I grab the wooden spoon from the drawer and mix everything up. I leave it to simmer for a few minutes before I grab another pan to help fry the chicken. "You know, you should make some extra for lunch tomorrow."

"Are you a mind reader or something?" I joke. "I'm actually going to pack some for Lindsay and Michael."

The sound of the door opening turns my attention away from the food. I let out a sigh of relief when I see Peyton there.

"Hey Amy, the pasta's almost done," he tells me. I nod and go back to the stove in front of me. "Do you need any help here?"

"I think we're good," I say, "but thanks for offering." He nods and heads back to his apartment.

"So that's the  _mystery boy_ Ray was talking about earlier," Tina teases. "He's cute."

"Yeah, but I'm keeping my eye on him," Ray states. "I don't need my little Amy Pond falling for a different Rory Williams."

"I hate you both," I mumble. After about ten minutes, most of the chicken is done, and the marsala sauce is finished. "You guys can leave now if you'd like. I'm pretty sure you'd like to eat dinner at a reasonable time."

"Alright," Tina says turning off the stove. The two give me a hug. "Don't hesitate to call us if you start feeling uncomfortable."

"Yeah, especially if you really just need to feel safe," Ray adds on.I nod and push them out the door.

I nod and push them out the door. "Thank you, and as much as I love you guys, go and have your dinner! I'm pretty sure you guys want to be alone since it's been a few weeks since you guys were last together." They laugh and walk hand in hand to the end of the hallway. 

"So I take it as everything is ready?" Peyton asks as he opens his door. 

"Yup, I just have to put the sauce on the pasta and chicken," I tell him as I walk into my apartment. He follows me in. 

"Sabrina and Bradley are running late, but Corey and Rowan are here," he mentions as he grabs the big plate of chicken. "They can't wait to meet you, especially since the night at the arcade." 

"Were all your friends there the night of the arcade?" I ask.

"Yup." I let out a sigh. "I'll be right back."

I walk out and head to my apartment. I grab my phone and my keys before heading back out and locking the door. I take a deep breath.  _Everything is going to be fine. You've hung out with people before._

"Hey." I look up to see a blonde hair girl with another brunette guy. "You must be the girl that Peyton's been talking to nonstop."

"Yeah," I say. "I'm Amelia."

"Sabrina," she introduces, "and this is my boyfriend Bradley."

"Nice to meet you," he grins. I smile as we all walk in. 

As soon as we walk in, Peyton stays by my side. It's weird, but it comforts me and calms my nerves down. I follow him into the kitchen.

"Dinner's ready by the way," Peyton calls out. Every rushes to the kitchen and grabs their plates. I stay back and let everyone get their food. "You know, you're allowed to eat too."

"I'm just waiting for everyone to get their food," I tell him. He nods and stays back with me. He takes my hand in his as a way to comfort me. "Thanks."

"I thought you needed it," he grins. I bite my lip as my cheeks start to heat up. Soon enough, I grab my food and sit with the rest of the group.

"So Amelia, tell us about yourself," Rowan says. 

"Well, you guys can call me Amy for starters," I start. Everyone lets out a chuckle. "Umm, what do you guys want to know?"

Uriah immediately speaks up. "How old are you?"

"I'm 16 turning 17," I answer. "Any other questions?"

Everyone starts shooting out questions throughout dinner. I almost had to eat and chew quickly to answer every question.

"Well, I think that's enough with asking Amy questions for tonight," Peyton interrupts. I smile gratefully as I stuff my face with the rest of my food. "Anyways, who's up for video games?"

The next hour or two were spent playing Super Smash Bros. My smile widens as I kill Peyton. "Wow, how are you so good at this game?" Bradley asks.

"Yeah, like you won 95% of our games," Corey adds on. 

"Perks of getting to play video games during work," I smirk. 

"As fun as that was, I think it's time for me to head out," Uriah mentions. "Anyone need a ride." Rowan, Corey, Sabrina, and Bradley all take him up on his offer. "Alright, well let's go." We all bid farewell as the five of them head out. As soon as Peyton closes the door, I start gathering all of my things.

"You need help with any of that?" Peyton asks. "I mean, you did cook for everyone. The least I can do is help you clean."

"Are you sure?" I question. "I mean, it's fine. I can do it on my own."

"Nonsense," he says. "How about you start washing the dishes while I pack up all of the food?"

"Okay, but you better dry the dishes when I'm done." He laughs as I turn on the sink. After about half an hour, all of the dishes were clean. "So, what now?"

"Well, it would be nice if you could show me some of your favorite Rooster Teeth videos," he suggests. "I mean, my brother won't be home for another couple of hours."

"Alright, I'll take you up on that." He smiles and takes my hand to lead me to the couch. He turns on his Xbox. "So, what are you in the mood for?"

"I'm up for anything, I guess." 

"Well then, want to watch Red vs Blue?" 

"Sure," he replies as he hands me the controller. I navigate to Netflix and click on the first season.

As the first season progresses, I find myself moving closer to Peyton. Soon enough, we were cuddling. He wraps his arm around my waist to pull me even closer.

"This feels nice," I say as we begin season two.

"This does," he agrees.

Once we get thirty minutes into season three, we hear the door open. We pull apart and stand up. "Woah, didn't mean to scare you," the guy, who I assume is Peyton's brother, says. "Who's this?"

"Cole, this is Amelia. Amelia, this is my brother, Cole," he introduces. 

"Nice to meet you," Cole says as he walks over to us. 

"Nice to meet you too," I shyly say. "I think I should go."

"Do you want any help bringing your plates back to your's?" Peyton asks.

"I think I'll be fine," I say. "Thank you anyways. Also, you guys can keep the leftovers from tonight."

"Thank you, Amelia," Cole replies. I grab my things and walk out of the door. "Hey Amelia, you should join Peyton and me for dinner tomorrow."

"I'll have to ask my cousin if I can go, but I should be able to go," I smile. 

"See you tomorrow then." I turn around to open my door when everything starts to fall out of my hand. 

"Woah, I got it." I let out a sigh of relief as Peyton grabs the plates I almost dropped trying to open my door. I thank him as I open the door. 

"I thought you went to your room already," I comment as I grab my plates from him.

"Well, I couldn't just let you leave without saying anything," he chuckles. "Good night AP."

"AP?" I question.

“Short for Amy Pond,” he smiles.

“Well, in that case, good night RW,” I chuckle.

“Short for Rory Williams?” he asks. I just nod. He laughs. “Good night.”

He turns around and walks into his apartment as I turn and walk into mine. I close the door with my foot and set everything onto the counter.  _Tonight was nice. The first time I felt okay in a while._


	7. Chapter 7

I’m left with few moments of silence before my phone rings. “Hello,” I answer.

“Hey Amy,” Geoff’s voice rings. “So both Lindsay and Michael are drunk off of their asses right now so they’re sorta staying at mine for tonight. I’m calling just so you know.”

“Alright, do I need to bring them clothes then?” I ask.

“Yeah, but do it tomorrow morning,” he tells me. “By the way, what are you still doing up? It’s midnight.”

“It is?” I ask taking the phone away from my ear to check. 12:03. “Well, I guess I’ll see you at work tomorrow then.”

“Actually, do you think you’ll be able to come to mine tomorrow? Like at 6:30?” he asks.

“I’ll try my best to,” I say. "Are you sure you don't want me to do this now?"

Before he could respond, someone cuts him off. “Is that Amy?” I hear Michael ask.

“Yes Michael,” Geoff sighs.

“Hi Amy,” Michael says taking the phone away from Geoff. “Use protection with Peyton.”

“Mikey!” I yell. “Give the phone back to Geoff.”

“Fine,” he grumbles.

“Thanks Amy,” Geoff says. “Actually, do you think you can find a ride here tonight? You can get the keys from Michael and Lindsay.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” I sigh.

“Thanks,” he says before hanging up. I put my phone back into my pocket before I run into Michael and Lindsay’s room. I look through their clothes, bringing them something to sleep in as well as something for them to wear tomorrow. I pack their bags, throwing in their phone chargers too.

_Now, who can I get to bring me to Geoff’s? Ray and Tina are probably sleeping. Either that or they’re fucking. Hmm, I could always as Peyton, but he could be asleep. I guess it's worth a shot._

I walk across the hall and knock on the door. Cole answers it.

“Hi,” he says.

“Umm hi,” I say. “Is Peyton still up?”

“Hey,” Peyton says coming up behind Cole. “How come you’re here again?”

“I was going to see if I could get a ride to Geoff’s place so I can get Mikey’s car,” I explain.

“Sure,” he says. “Just give me one minute.” He leaves me there with Cole.

“Are you home alone?” Cole asks. I nod. “Who are you living with?”

“My cousin and his wife. They’re sort of drunk at the moment so they’re staying with their boss,” I mention.

“Do you want to stay here for the night then?” he offers.

“No, it’s okay. I’ll probably just go to my friend’s place,” I say.

“Okay,” he says. Peyton soon comes back with his keys. “Let’s go.”

The car ride to Geoff’s was silent. I was trying my best not to fall asleep in all honesty.

“About how long would it be to get there?” he asks as we pull out of the parking lot.

“About an hour and a half,” I admit.

“Okay,” he says. I tell him the directions there. Five minutes into the ride, I feel my eyes getting heavier. “You can go to sleep if you want.”

“Don’t you need directions there though?” I ask. He pulls into a nearby parking lot and parks. “What’s the address?” I tell him the address and he puts it in his phone. “There, I’ll just use my phone’s GPS to find my way. Now go get some sleep. I don’t need you to fall asleep at the wheel.” I nod, letting my eyes fall heavily.

I soon wake up to Peyton poking me.

“We’re here,” he whispers. I nod and get out of the car, grabbing the bag I packed for Lindsay and Michael.

“Thank you for the ride,” I say.

“No problem AJ,” he tells me.

“Good night Peyton. Be safe,” I tell him.

“Good night Amy,” he replies. “Get home safely.” I nod before closing the passenger door. I walk up to Geoff’s house and ring the doorbell. I look back to see Peyton drive off. The door opens, causing me to turn around.

“Hi Amy,” Geoff says.

“I brought Mikey and Linds a bag of clothes,” I say handing it to him.

“Thank you,” he tells me. “Here are the keys to the car. Now drive home safely, and I want you at the office at 8 tomorrow morning.”

“Alright,” I say. “Are you sure you don’t want me to take them home?”

“Nah, I don’t want you to be around Michael drunk,” he tells me.

“Alright,” I say. “See you tomorrow.” I turn around and walk to the car. I unlock it and get in. I shoot Ray a text asking if I could stay at his place before I start the engine and head home. After about an hour and twenty minutes, I make it into the parking lot. I turn off the car and let my eyes start drifting a bit. My phone rings, causing me to sit up. I look to see it’s a text from Peyton.

 ****__**From: Peyton <3**  
_Did you get home safely? ~Rory Williams_   


**_To: Peyton <3  
_ ** _Yeah, I just parked the car ~Amelia Pond_

I get out of the car, locking the doors before I head into the apartment complex. I make it up three flights of stairs. As I approach my door, I see Peyton sitting by my door.

“What are you doing at my door for once?” I teasingly ask.

“My brother told me you were home alone, so I thought I would stay the night to make sure nothing bad happens. I mean, if that’s alright with you,” he admits.

“Go and sleep in your own bed,” I tell him. “I might go to Ray’s in all honesty.”

“Oh,” he says, his smile faltering. My phone beeps. I look down to see a text from Ray.

_**From: Tuxedo Mask  
**_ _Sorry! But Tina and I aren't there. We stayed the night at a hotel as a part of our whole romantic evening._

"Looks like I can't stay at Ray's," I murmur. 

"You know, my offer still stands," Peyton tells me. I think for a moment. 

"I think I'll take you up on it," I answer giving him a small smile. His grin widens as I let him in.

“So, where are we going to sleep?” he asks.

“Umm, it depends, do you mind sharing a bed?” I inquire.

“I don't mind at all,” he replies.

“Well then, we’re sleeping in my room,” I tell him. He smiles. We head into my room. "Sorry, my room's still a mess. I'm still unpacking."

"No worries," he says picking up a picture of me and my parents on my 16th birthday. "Who's this?"

"Umm, that's me and my parents on my 16th birthday," I answer.

"If you don't mind me asking, where are your parents?" he asks. The one question I didn't want anyone to ask me. I stay silent for a bit. _Am I going to open up to a guy I met just a day ago?_ I search his eyes to see that he instantly feels guilty for bringing it up. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. I didn't mean to bring it up if-"

"It's okay," I say cutting him off. "I might as well tell you since it's sorta the reason I live here now." I motion him to sit down on my bed. He follows my command, and I take a seat next to him.

“You really don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” he tells me, guilt showing through his eyes. I take a deep breath, letting a tear I didn’t know was forming fall. I feel his thumb wipe the tears that were forming. I keep my gaze on my knees, letting the tears fall. “Hey.” His whisper causes me to look at him. “You don’t have to talk about it. I can tell it’s a touchy subject. If you want to just cry, my shoulder is always here. If you want to fall asleep, I’ve been told I’m an amazing cuddler.” This causes me to crack a smile. “I don’t expect you to tell me your life story yet. I mean we did just meet a day ago, but I really do hope that one day you’ll trust me enough to let me know. I’m not lying when I say that I really do want to get to know you and be your friend.”

I sit up and throw my arms around him, letting myself fully cry. He rubs my back, using his other hand to brush my hair. After a few minutes, I finally start to calm down. Soon, my breathing starts to get to an even pace, and the tears are starting to stop forming.

“Thank you,” I whisper. I sit back up and wipe the remaining tears. “Thank you for everything.”

“Your welcome,” he says. He then grabs one of our phones and checks the time. “It’s about 1:30 in the morning, and I’m assuming you need to go to the office early in the morning. So let’s go to sleep.” I nod and lay down. He gets up to turn off the light before laying down next to me.

His arm wraps around my waist, pulling me closer to him. My head rests on his chest, and I find myself inhaling his scent.

“Good night Peyton,” I say as my eyes get heavier.

“Sweet dreams Amy,” he whispers before kissing my forehead. Within minutes, I feel myself drift off to dreamland.


	8. Chapter 8

I wake up to my phone ringing. I look over to see that Peyton is right next to me. I smile remembering how he took care of me yesterday. I then remember my phone ringing and slip out of his grip. I climb over him and grab my phone. I walk into the hallway and answer my phone.

“Hello,” I say rubbing my eyes. 

“Amy,” Michael’s voice rings.

“Mikey, what do you need?” I ask.

“Are you okay? I know I didn’t come home last night, and Geoff told me that you came over last night to pick up the car and-” 

“Michael,” I interrupt. “It’s fine. I’m still tired though.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. It’s six in the morning,” he apologizes. “If you want you can sleep at the office when you get here.”

“Alright, I mean, Geoff didn't want me there until 8,” I tell him.

“Well, we're going to leave soon, and I'd much rather have you at the office rather than the apartment,” he states. “Oh, and before I forget, the key to get into the office is in the key drawer.”

“Alright, I'll head to the office as soon as I'm done getting ready,” I say. "Bye, love you."

“Bye, love you too." He hangs up the phone.

I look at my phone to see that it’s at twenty percent battery life. “Shit,” I mumble walking back into my room. I plug in my phone before I look at my bed to see that Peyton is stirring awake.

He sits up a bit and looks towards the door. “Good morning,” he says when he notices me. 

“Good morning,” I smile. “Did I wake up you?”

“It’s more so the fact that you weren’t next to me that woke me up,” he teases, causing me to laugh. “No, you didn’t wake me up.”

“Okay good to know." I take a seat at the edge of the bed. “I'm so tired.” 

“Then why don't you go back to sleep?” he asks. 

“I have to get ready and go to the office,” I tell him.

“Well, when do you have to be there?"

"In like an hour and twenty minutes," I answer. "I still have to get ready though."

"Well, I guess that means I have to leave then." I nod. We both get up, and I walk him to the door. "You know, my friends and I were planning on getting breakfast. You think you'd be able to join us?"

"I'll see what I can do." I open the door and give him a hug. "I'll talk to you later."

"See you later AJ."

I close the door and lean against it. The corners of my mouth twitch up as my heart starts to flutter. "That boy is something," I murmur.  

I stay like that for a moment before I head back to my room. I look through my closet and pick out a pair of shorts and my Panic! at the Disco tank top. I set it on my bed before grabbing a towel and walking into the bathroom. I turn on the shower before I put my hair in a bun. I get in, taking a quick five-minute shower before hopping out. I dry myself up before wrapping a towel around me. I soon hear a knock at the door. I quickly make my way to the door, looking through the peephole. I see that Ray and Tina are standing there. 

“Uh, hi,” I say opening the door.

“Hey,” the two say coming in.

“What are you guys doing here?” I ask. "Weren't you guys at a hotel or something?"

“We were, and then Michael called saying that you need to be at the office soon and wants one of us to be with you, so you're stuck with me,” Ray tells me.

“Okay,” I say.

“I’ll pick Ray up after I bring my family to their hotel,” Tina adds on. “I sort of need to leave now though because their flight is going to land soon.”

“Okay, well I’m going to finish getting changed and head to the office now so I guess I’ll see you later,” I say hugging Tina. She gives Ray a kiss before leaving.

“Oh, by the way, you’re giving me driving lessons,” he tells me.

“Fine,” I say as I walk into my room. I close the door behind me and pick up my phone. I look to see I have a text from Mikey.

 **_From: Mikey  
_ ** _I’m leaving Geoff’s place right now. I’ll see you in about an hour or so._

I put on my clothes for today and take my hair out of a bun. As I start to braid it, I hear a soft knock. “Are you decent?” Ray’s voice rings.

“Yeah." He opens my door and sits on my bed. I take a seat next to him and rest my head on his shoulder.

"Did you open them yet?" he asks. I shake my head. He sighs, gently moving my head before getting up, and walking over to the two small boxes. He grabs them and hands them to me.

"Why are you handing me these?" I question. 

"It's been a few weeks already Amelia," he sighs. "I think your parents would have wanted you to open them by now.

"Do I have to open them?" I ask.

"You're going to eventually," he reminds me. I let out a sigh. He sits down and takes one of my hands. "I'm here for you." 

I weakly smile at him before I open the first box. I unwrap it and open it to reveal a jewelry box. It’s encrusted with rubies and has my initials carved onto the top of it. I open it to reveal that there was a locket on the inside of it, along with a note. 

 

_To our dearest Amelia Claire,_

_If you have opened this letter, it means that we are no longer with you. I know it’s going to be hard for you to deal with this, but remember that we will always protect you from everything. Our promise to you is that we will always love and protect you. We know Michael will take very good care of you. Remember that no matter what, we are with you, even when you don’t know it. We love you, Amelia._  

_~Mom and Dad_

 

I feel tears running down my cheeks. Ray’s thumb wipes over them.

“There’s still another box,” he tells me. I nod and open the second one. Inside, there is a journal, partially filled with memories from my childhood. There’s a note on top of it.

 

_To our dearest Amelia Claire,_

_We filled this up as much as we could. These were some of our favorite memories of you growing up. It’s not exactly a scrapbook, but it’s not a journal either. This is where you put all of your favorite memories, and when you are feeling sad, you look through this and remember all of the good times you’ve had. This is our last birthday gift to you. We know you may not open it on your birthday, but you might as well get this as soon as possible. We love you and we’ll always protect you._

_~Mom and Dad_  

 

I open the journal to see one of my baby pictures on the front. It was from the moment I was born. On the top of the page, it had “Amelia Claire Jones” written in some sort of fancy print. I smile as I start to look through the memories of me and Mikey playing together, my birthdays, family vacations, and just everything while my parents were still alive. There were even some pictures of me and Ray in there. I smile as I close the journal, clutching it close to my chest.

I feel Ray’s hand rest on my shoulder, causing me to look at him. “Come on, we gotta get going,” he tells me. I nod, wiping the remainder of my tears.

I grab my Doctor Who bag, throwing my laptop, both my laptop and phone charger, earphones, wallet, my set of keys, my writing journal, my sketch pad, and my pencil case filled with pens, pencils, and sharpies. I also throw in the journal my parents left for me. I grab my phone, which is at fifty percent and the keys to Michael's car. I then hand Ray my bag. “Meet me by the stairs,” I tell him. He nods and starts walking.

I run into the kitchen and look for the keys to the office. I open the drawer and find them in the very back. I then run into my room and slip my pair of converse on. I look at the locket I left on top of the jewelry box. I grab it and put it on. I hold the pendant for a quick moment before running out of the apartment. I lock the door behind me before meeting up with Ray. We then proceed to walk to the car. We get in and start the drive to the office.

We drive in a comfortable silence for few minutes. After we pull into the parking lot, I hand Ray the keys to the office and let him walk ahead of me. I look at my phone. 6:00. _Ugg, Mikey’s gonna be here in like 20 minutes._ I grab my bag and walk into the office. I then take out my phone charger and plug my phone in. I let it sit on my desk while I put my bag in my seat. I walk over to the couch and lay down.

“Still tired?” Ray questions. I nod as I close my eyes. “Alright, I’m going to walk to grab something for breakfast. Want anything?”

“Surprise me,” I mumble as I feel my body relax. I hear the door open and close, signaling Ray left the room. I soon drift into a peaceful darkness. As soon as I feel myself start to reach the point of getting into deep sleep, the door opens.

“Shh, Amelia is sleeping,” I hear a voice whisper.

“Well, we need to wake her up soon,” another voice mutters. “We have to film soon.”

“Let’s wait until Ray gets back at least,” a third voice murmurs. “He said that he’s getting her food.”

I soon start to stretch and sit up, rubbing my eyes. I look around the room to see Mikey, Lindsay, and Geoff. Just then, the door opens. I look over to see Ray walk in with two cups and two small bags.

“Morning sleepy head,” he jokes taking a seat next to me. The other three in the room look at me.

“Shit, did we wake you up?” Michael asks. 

“Eh, sorta,” I admit. “I fell asleep right when I got here though, so I got about…” I pause as I look at the clock for the time. “Half an hour of sleep.”

“Well, do you want to go back to sleep?” Lindsay asks. “We’ll wake you back up when the others get here.”

“Nah,” I say. “I’ll be fine.” I then look towards Ray, who’s handing me a cup.

“It’s hot chocolate,” he tells me.

“You know me so well,” I smile taking it. I take a sip of it as I hold it in my hands. After a few minutes of me sipping my drink, I decide to chug the rest of it down since it cooled down.

“Wow, you’re thirsty,” Ray comments as he takes my cup to throw it away.

“Well, I didn’t eat or drink anything today,” I mention.

“Hey Amy,” Mikey says. I look towards him. “We’re having a company dinner thing tonight. Make sure you dress nicely.”

Before I say anything, I remember what Cole asked me last night. “Do I have to go?” I ask.

“Umm, yeah,” he says. “Why are you asking?”

“Peyton’s older brother invited me to have dinner with them tonight?” I say rushing the last part out quickly.

“Well, you're a part of the company, so you have to go to this," he tells me. "Tell them maybe another time." I nod and rest my head on Ray's shoulder.  _I guess I won't be able to see him again. Wait, why am I getting sad over not going to dinner with someone I just met. Snap out of it Amy. You can't let yourself fall._

After about five minutes, Ryan and Jack walk in. 

“Hey Amy, I need you to do something for me,” Ryan says.

“What is it?” I ask.

“I need you to pick up Clara from the airport,” he tells me.

“MY COMPANION BUDDY IS COMING AND YOU DIDN’T TELL ME?”

“It was short notice,” he says.

“Alright.” I get up to take a seat at my desk. “What time am I picking her up?”

“Around 12:30,” he replies.

“Geoff, I’m taking an extra long lunch break,” I state.

“Alright, just be back here at four,” he says. I nod. I start turning on my monitor and my Xbox One when Michael taps me on the shoulder.

“Wanna film a play pals?” he asks me.

“Sure,” I say. “What game are we playing?”

“Umm, Five Nights At Freddy’s." As soon as he says the name of the game, Gavin walks in. He takes a seat at his desk and turns on his stuff.

“How about you play that with Gavin,” I suggest.

“Play what?” he asks.

“Five Nights At Freddy’s."

I watch as his face drops. “Nope, I’m not gonna play it,” he says getting up. “Amy you do it!”

“Hell no! Horror games and I don’t mix,” I argue.

“Well I don’t mix well with horror games either!" He takes a step towards the door. "Amy please?"

"You better have a good offer to get me to play that game," I tell him.

"How about I'll give you money for breakfast right now," he proposes.

"Include money for lunch and we have a deal." I hold my hand out, and we shake on it. "Can we film later so I can at least grab something to eat?"

"We'll film when you get back then," Michael says. I smile as Gavin hands me $40.

"Thanks Gavin." I give him a side hug before I grab the car keys. I look at my phone to see a text from Peyton.

_**From: Peyton**  
I'm heading to Kerbey Lanes after I get Sabrina and Bradley if you want to head there._

**_To:_ ** _**Peyton**  
_ _I'll see what I can do_

I gather all of my things and put them in my bag. "Alright, I'm heading out," Ray calls out.

"Me too," I say. "Bye guys!"

"Please be back within the hour," Michael says. 

"Okay." 

Ray and I walk outside and say bye before walking our separate ways.

As soon as I get into the car, I plug in my phone and blare All Time Low. I pull out of the parking lot and make my way to Kerbey Lane. After about three songs, I pull into the parking lot. I park the car and grab my wallet and phone. I get out and lock the car.

_**To: Peyton  
** Hey, I'm here. I'm don't think I can stay long though._

I walk inside and order french toast to go. Ten minutes go by, and I finally get my food.

As I open my car door, I hear someone call my name. “Amy!” I look to see Uriah walking up to me.

“Hi,” I say as he pulls me into a hug.

“What are you doing here?” he asks. “Peyton said you couldn't come.”

“I told Peyton I would see what I can do," I explain. "Plus, I got money for breakfast today from a coworker."

"Well then, are you eating here with us?" 

"I wish I could," I start, "but I have to be back at the office in less than an hour." 

"Oh," he says. "Where do you work?"

"At Rooster Teeth," I answer.

"Really?" he asks.

"Yeah, I'm a part of Achievement Hunter," I mention. "I thought Peyton would have mentioned it."

"Nope, he didn't say a thing." Just then another car pulls in next to mine. I look over to see Peyton, Sabrina, and Bradley getting out.

"AJ, I didn't know you were coming," he says.

"Check your phone." He fumbles as he takes out his phone to see my text. 

"Well I'm glad you're here," he smiles. 

"Don't get your hopes up," I tell him. "I have to be at the office in an hour." I see his smile falter. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," he says.

"Well, I have to go." They all nod. I say bye as watch as they walk inside the building. I get in my car and sigh.  _Why am I sad about not getting to hang out with people I just met?_

I shake the thought out of my head and drive to the office. I grab my food and speedwalk to the office

“I’m back fuckers!” I yell to grab everyone’s attention.

“Wow, you’re here before the time I told you for once,” Michael teases. I roll my eyes and give him the middle finger. He laughs as I take a seat at my desk and open my box. I start eating as everyone goes back to their work. A few minutes pass by as I think of an idea.

_**To: Peyton  
** Did you order your food yet?_

_**From: Peyton**  
Not yet, why?_

_**To: Peyton**  
You guys want to hang out where I work like yesterday? I don't think anyone would mind._

_**From: Peyton**  
I'll ask everyone_

"I'll be right back." I shoot up out of my seat and sprint to Burnie's office. I knock on the door, and he immediately answers it. "Hey Burnie, do you think I can have a few friends over for a little bit?"

"Sure," he answers. "Just please do your work."

"Thanks Catbug." He lets out a groan as I run off. I get back to the office and check my phone.

 **_From: Peyton_ **  
_We'll be there in 10_

I smile and silently cheer. "What's got you all smiley?" Ryan asks. 

“Nothing," I intone. 

"I call bullshit!" Gavin calls out. I flip him off.

I look over towards Michael. "Millie, what's going on?"

"Peytonandhisfriendsaregoingtohangouthereforabit," I rush out. 

"Okay, can you say that for us slower?" I bite my lip and look down. "Millie, I'm not going to be mad."

I take a deep breath. "So, Burnie said it was fine if I invite Peyton and his friends to hang out here today."

"Okay, so we're going to film when you get back from the airport then?" My eyes widen. "Amy, I'm too hungover for this right now." I nod. Everyone turns back to their monitors as I walk to the front desk.

"Hey Kara," I start, "so Burnie said it was fine for a few of my friends to hang out here."

"You mean the group of teenagers that are sitting behind you?" I look to see where's she's pointing. "I'm off to do lines for RWBY though, so you're lucky that you got here in time." I thank her before she runs off. 

"So this is where you work?" Uriah questions. I turn around and nod. "Nice, where's your office?"

I motion them to stand up. "Well, I'm in the Achievement Hunter office," I tell them as I bring them to the office. "I'm currently not editing anything, but my desk is in the corner over there."

"Amy, I know that you finally have people your age around here, but Meg needs you right now," Ryan says. I let out a groan. "Sorry."

"Let me bring them to the kitchen first." He nods. I guide them out of the Achievement Hunter and motion towards one of the tables. "So feel to take a seat here. If anyone asks, just tell them you're waiting for me to get back."

"Alright," Peyton says. "I know I'm free all day, but I'm not too sure about everyone else though."

"I'll try to be quick." I notice Ryan walking out of the AH office. I smile and run up to him. I jump on his back, catching him off guard, but he quickly regains his balance and ensures that I won't fall.

"Really!" he exclaims.

“You continue to surprise me AP,” Peyton comments. I smile and wink.

“Onward to Meg’s office!” I yell before Ryan starts making his way to where Meg is.

“You like him, don’t you?” Ryan asks when we’re out of earshot.

“What do you mean?” I question, trying to avoid the subject.

“The wink, the way you smile at him, and the way you act with him. Looks like someone’s in love,” he says.

“Oh shut up,” I blush. He puts me down in front of Meg’s desk.

“Meg, be careful with this one. She’s in love,” he says before running away.

“Fuck off!” I yell at him before turning to Meg and Ashley. “So, what did you need me to do?”

“We just wanted to ask you to help us with the company dinner later,” Meg says. “We were hoping you could help Burnie cook later.”

“I mean, we did get someone to cater some food, but Burnie decided they wanted to cook other foods as well,” Ashley adds on.

“Plus, no one ordered a dessert dish, so we were hoping you could come up with something,” Meg mentions.

“Umm, sure. I’ll think of something later though,” I tell them. They nod. “Well, I’m just going to go back to the AH office so see you guys later.” They both wave bye before they get back to work. I walk into the kitchen to see Peyton and his friends laughing. I take the open seat next to Peyton.

“Hey, you’re here to join us,” he smiles.

“Up until someone has something for me to do,” I comment. As if on cue, Geoff walks out of the office.

“Amy,” he starts, “you up for editing a Things To Do and a Minecraft Let’s Play?”

“Yeah sure,” I say as I get up. "Looks like that's my cue to go."

“You know, you didn’t have to invite us here,” Peyton says. "We understand that you have work to get done."

“It’s fine. It’s nice to have people around my age once in a while. I mean, everyone here is like 21 and over. Like Geoff’s in his forties.” Peyton opens his mouth to say something but is cut off with his phone ringing.

“Sorry, I need to take this,” he says before getting up to walk away from the group.

"I'll be right back." I start walking to the AH office only for Burnie to stop me.

"Amy, does Geoff have you doing anything?" he asks.

"He wants me to edit a Let's-"

"Yeah, I need you to do something for me now," he states. He walks into the AH office. "Geoff, I'm stealing Amy for a bit." I hear him groan and start complaining. Burnie shuts the door. 

"So what's the thing you need me to do Catbug?" I smirk as he groans. 

"Ashely told me that she hired you to make our dessert for tonight," he mentions. "I just thought I'd at least give you the money for it and give you a bit of a break from editing."

"I haven't even been here two days, and you're already taking me away from editing," I chuckle. He shrugs. 

"Go back to your teenagers," he says. I nod and take my seat next to Peyton. "Oh, and by the way, don't forget your date for tonight." I blush and look at the group of teens I invited.

“Hey, welcome back,” Peyton says. I smile and turn towards the group. "So, this is what work life is for you."

"Yup," I say. "All of the constant teasing."

"You know, I didn't think someone of our age would be able to work here," Sabrina comments. "I mean, people here must have worked hard to get where they are."

"You'd be surprised." 

“Why do you need a date for tonight?” Corey asks.

I blush. "There's just this company dinner party tonight that I sorta have to attend." They all nod. “It’s nothing really. Everyone here pokes fun, saying I have a secret boyfriend or something like that," I add in.

“It’s not a secret if it’s true,” Blaine says as he drapes his arms around my shoulders. “Hi, I’m Amelia’s boyfriend.” I blush and elbow his stomach.

“You never told me you had a boyfriend,” Peyton says. I look over and see the sadness in his eyes even though he kept a smile on his face.

“I don’t,” I say giving Blaine a death glare. “Blaine’s just being a piece of shit right now.”

“Yeah,” he answers when he sees the death glare I’m giving him. “I’m just messing with her, but Amy, I need to talk to you about this skit that we’re planning to do.” Before I could respond, he pulls me over to the side.

“Okay, so what’s the skit?” I ask.

“There’s no skit, but who’s the guy?” he questions.

“Which one?” I look back to see which one he’s talking about.

“The one who got all sad when I joked about being your boyfriend,” he tells me.

“Oh, Peyton. He’s the guy I met at the arcade,” I answer.

“Is he the guy everyone’s saying you’re in love with?” I playfully shove him and blush. “Ask him to the dinner.”

“I can’t just ask him to the dinner,” I say. “He probably has better plans.”

“It doesn’t hurt to try,” he says. “I’m going to go back to work. Save me a dance at the company dinner though, okay?”

“I will,” I say. We walk our separate ways. When I get back to the table, everyone stops talking, and Peyton stands up. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay,” Peyton says. He pulls out my chair, letting me sit in it before he pushes it back in. “So a few of us need to leave for work.”

"Oh, alright," I reply. 

"Oh, don't worry, Peyton's going to be here still, but the rest of us have to leave for work," Uriah mentions.  

“I guess you’re stuck with me,” Peyton laughs.

“Well we should get going,” Bradley says.

“It was nice hanging out with you,” Rowan says.

“Yeah, maybe we’ll actually be able to see more of what you do,” Corey chimes in.

“Alright, bye,” I say giving each of them a hug. When they all leave, I start walking to the AH office.

“So you're just going to leave me here then," Peyton jokes.

“Well, I'm not stopping you from coming into the office." He quickly gets up and follows me. I stop outside the door and motion him to be quiet since they're recording. I walk in and lead him into the editor's office. I close the door and let out a sigh. "There are times where I hate being quiet." He chuckles as we sit down. I log onto Lindsay's computer to start editing. "So, what do you want to talk about?"

"Anything," he says. I think about what Blaine told me earlier.  _Ask him to the dinner._ I bite my lip and focus on the Things To Do I have to edit. "If anything, you could teach me what you do."

"Are you sure you want to do that?" I question.

"Yeah, I mean, I have a few more hours to kill before I head to work," he tells me. I scoot over so he could move his chair there. We had all of the audio synced up when Lindsay walks back in. 

"I hate to kick you guys off, but I have work to do," she says. "Also, they're still recording out there, so you probably should go somewhere else." We nod and get up. We quickly get out of the office and walk around Stage 5. 

 _Come on Amy. Get the courage to ask him._ We walk past the animation department when I bring up the subject of the company dinner. "So, are you doing anything tonight?"

“Well there was the dinner tonight that Cole wanted to have, but since you won’t be able to make it, I’m free,” he replies.

“Sorry about that,” I apologize. “I didn’t find out about it until this morning. I meant to text you earlier, but I got busy and-”

“It’s fine AJ,” he says cutting me off. “Anyways, why were you asking if I was free?”

I could feel everyone's eyes on me even though they are trying so hard to make it seem like they're doing actual work. “I was wondering if you would be my date to the company dinner?” I ask.

“I would love to,” he answers. I smile. Our moment is cut short, however, due to my phone ringing. I look at it to see a text from Michael.

 **_From: Mikey_ **  
_Come back to the office. We gotta film a VS_

"And looks like I have to go back to work," I say. "You're free to stay and sit in if you'd like."

"I'd like that," he smiles.  


	9. Chapter 9

I look around the room and notice that it's not only the main Achievement Hunters, but Matt, Trevor, Jon, Miles, Kerry, and Cole.

Before I could question anything, Geoff screams, “Alright fuckers, we’re starting to film.” Everyone quiets down as Geoff looks at Kdin’s phone. “Versus.”

"Versus!" I yell.

“Alright, so Amelia beat Jack last week,” Geoff recaps. “This week, Lindsay challenges the youngest champion ever.” 

“That is correct Geoff,” Michael says. Kdin then pans the phone to Lindsay while Trevor pans his phone to me.

“Alright, so I thought why not have a race with the rolly chairs again,” Lindsay starts, “but there’s a twist. We’re not going to be running.” 

“Thank God!” I exclaim.

“We’re going to get these fuckers to push us." I look and notice the shocked expressions on everyone's face. “We’re going to pull names out of this fishbowl and those five guys will be the ones pulling us. So everyone in this room is pretty much in the running to run,” she explains.

“Is that why I’m here?” Miles questions.

“Yes, but you might be safe,” she answers.

“So do we pick one at a time or all five at once?” I ask.

“Umm, let’s do one at a time,” she says. Jon stands inbetween us to hold the fishbowl. She grabs a name out of the fishbowl. “Michael.” He walks over and stands by Lindsay.

I put my hand in the fishbowl and grab a name. I unfold it and show it to the camera. “Cole.” He smiles and walks over to my side.

"Hey shortie," he teases as he pretends to lean against me with his arm over my head.

Lindsay picks another name. “Gavin.” He walks over to Lindsay’s side.

“Gosh, I hope I get Ryan,” I say as I grab another name.

“Why would you want me?” he asks.

“Because,” I smirk. I unfold the piece of paper and smile, showing to the camera. “Ryan.”

“Dammit!” he yells as he walks over to my side.

Lindsay then grabs her third slip of paper. “Caleb.”

He walks over to Lindsay’s side as I pull out two pieces of paper. “So I accidentally grabbed two. Should I put one back or keep it.”

“Just keep it,” she says. “Open one of them first though.”

I nod, unfolding the piece of paper. “Trevor.”

"Well, I guess Steffie's going to film while I run," he says. 

I keep the other piece of paper folded as Lindsay grabs another name. “Matt.”

I hear him groan as I open the other slip of paper. “Miles.”

“God dammit!” Miles yells out. “I was hoping I would get out of this.” He walks over to my side.

“Should we grab our last piece of paper at the same time?” I ask.

“Sure,” Lindsay replies. We both grab our last names out of them and unfold them. I motion Lindsay to go first.

“Kerry,” she smiles. He curses under his breath as he walks over to Lindsay’s side

I then show my piece of paper to the camera. “Jeremy.”

I hear Geoff, Jack, and Kdin cheer. Jon sets the fishbowl down and grabs the 360 go pros.

“So, let’s go outside to show the course,” Lindsay says. Lindsay and I grab our chairs before we all walk to the parking lot to see a bunch of cones set up. “Alright, so there will be two guys on each end. The first one will have to criss-cross around these cones. When you get to one end, you will high five the next person to push you and criss-cross you back.”

“We’re pretty much seeing how in shape the guys are,” I say into Trevor’s camera as he hands it off to Steffie.

“Are you ready?” Lindsay asks the guys.

“Sure,” a few of them say.

“Not really,” Miles says.

“So Geoff and Jack will be on each side to make sure no one’s cheating,” she says looking towards Ryan.

“Why did you look at me when you said that?” he asks defensively.

“You always find loopholes,” I say. He rolls his eyes as we get ready. Ray is pushing me first while Michael pushes Lindsay.

“On your mark...get set...go!” Geoff yells.

Trevor and Michael start sprinting, and no one seems to be taking a distinct lead. I high five Ryan as he and Treco switch. Ryan gets ahead of Gavin by a good distance. I then high five Cole. As he starts running, Lindsay just high fived Caleb. He catches up with us as Lindsay and I both high five Miles and Kerry. Miles seems to be taking a bit of a lead, which is soon taken by Kerry. Miles and I get there behind Lindsay and Kerry by a second. I high five Jeremy who goes full speed ahead. Matt and Lindsay are close behind. Before Jeremy and I cross the finish line, something gets caught in the wheel, causing me to fall off of the chair. 

“MOTHER FUCKER!” I scream out in pain. Matt and Lindsay stop and everyone runs over to me. I look down at my leg to see a few scrapes as well as a jagged cut that is bleeding heavily.

“Amy are you okay?” Peyton asks kneeling down beside me.

“No,” I bluntly say. “There is a lot of pain in my leg.”

“Michael, we need to take her to the hospital,” Lindsay says. Michael runs into the office to grab his keys.

“Can someone give me something to tie around my leg?” I ask. Peyton quickly takes off his shirt and hands it to me. Normally, I would be blushing at something like this, but at the moment, I take his shirt and tie it tightly around my leg.

Michael runs back out of the office without his keys. “Amy, where did you put the keys?” he asks.

“They’re in my bag,” I say.

“We don’t have time to look for the keys,” Lindsay says. “Peyton, can we borrow your car?” He nods and hands her the keys. She tosses them to Michael. "I'll look for the keys and drive there. Take Peyton's car and go straight to the hospital.

He nods and picks me up. Michael follows Peyton to his car and unlocks it. 

“Can you sit in the back seat with her?” I hear him ask Peyton.

“Yeah,” he says. Michael sets me down in the back seat before jumping into the driver's seat. Peyton barely had enough time to close his door before Michael starts to pull out of the parking lot. The first ten minutes were silent.

“Sorry about your shirt,” I whisper to Peyton.

“You’re heavily bleeding and you’re worrying about my shirt,” he chuckles. “It’s fine. It was the first thing I thought of.”

“Well, I’ll buy you another one if you’re okay with that,” I tell him.

“No, it’s okay,” he says.

Before I could reply, we’re in the hospital parking lot.

“Peyton, take her to the ER. I’ll go park the car,” Michael says. He nods and scoops me up to bring me into the emergency room.

“Hello,” the nurse at the check-in desk says.

“We need someone to look at her leg,” Peyton says. “She has a cut on it and it's bleeding heavily.” A nurse calls someone and within a few minutes, someone with a wheelchair walks in. Peyton sits me down, and I am immediately wheeled away. He tries to follow but was forced to wait in the ER waiting room. As they put me on one of the beds, I wait until a doctor walks in with Michael and Lindsay.

The doctor takes the shirt off of my leg and starts to inspect it. “How did this happen?” he asks.

“We were filming something and the person pushing her tripped, causing her to fall off of the chair,” Lindsay explains.

“Well, she’s going to need stitches on her leg,” he tells us. “I’m going to get a nurse to help stop the bleeding while I get the supplies.” He then takes a bunch of pieces of gauze and tapes them against my leg. “Only one of you could be in here. The other one must wait in the waiting room.” Both Michael and Lindsay nod.

“I’m so sorry Amy. I didn’t think anything like this would of happened,” Lindsay apologizes.

“It’s okay,” I say laughing though the pain. “Is there a way I can talk to Peyton before they stitch up my leg?”

“I’ll go ask the doctor,” Lindsay says.

Once Lindsay gets out of the room, Michael comes up to my side. “You like him, don’t you?” he asks.

“Why wouldn’t I like him. I mean he’s the first friend I made and has already made me feel welcomed in Austin. He’s really nice and-”

“No, I mean you like him as more than a friend,” he bluntly says. I look at him before I sigh. “I know what you’re expecting. You’re assuming I’m going to do the whole ‘you’re not allowed to date anyone’ thing.” I nod. “I’m not going to do that. I know you’re able to take care of yourself. The only thing I ask is to let me at least somewhat approve of the guy first.”

I let out a small laugh. “Of course I will Mikey.”

“You should ask him to come to the company dinner since you can’t go to his dinner,” he tells me.

“Way ahead of you Asshole Cousin,” I say. Before he could retort, there is a knock at the door. “Come in.” The door opens to reveal Lindsay and Peyton. He rushes to my side.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

“I’m fine,” I tell him. “I just need to get my leg stitched up before I can go.”

His phone buzzes, signalling he has a text. His smile falters. “I have to leave right now,” he tells me.

“Will you still come with me to the dinner though?” I ask him.

“Of course,” he smiles. He gives me a kiss on the cheek before leaving. The couple “aww,” causing me to blush. The doctor soon walks in.

“Visiting time is up,” he says. “One of you needs to go into the waiting room.” Lindsay exits the room. Michael takes his place right next to me and takes my hand. The doctor washes his hands and puts gloves on. The nurse then walks in, washing her hands and putting on her gloves. He puts a numbing agent on my leg before starting to stitch my leg up.


End file.
